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At least 13 houses were destroyed in a fire that broke out at a Dalit settlement in Sarlahi on Saturday.

It has been learnt that properties worth around Rs 2.6 million were gutted in the flame.

According to the District Police Office, Sarlahi, Arbind Prasad Kusaha (35) was injured in the incident.

The houses of Pradeep Hajari, Rambali Paswan, Tahir Hajari, Sheetal Hajari, Jeevan Hajari, Bhikhari Paswan, Rambiswash Hajari, Bikau Paswan, Nanad Kishor Paswan, Gagan Hajari, Saraplal Hajari, Ramnath Hajari and Bhumeshwor Sah were destroyed in the fire, DSP Madhav Prasad Budhathoki said.

The reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained.

‘Mari laijanu ke cha ra, euta tattoo ta ho!’ (“What will we take with us when we die, except our tattoos!”) is apparently the guiding mantra behind people getting inked these days. Many are choosing to get tattoos as they want a piece of something they hold dear (like their parents or children) or things that have meaning in their lives (mantras or symbols) to be an intrinsic part of them, say the artists ApEx spoke to. Whatever the reasons, tattoos, once controversial and a niche pursuit, are now a booming business with tattooists charging upward of Rs 4,000 an hour and a tattoo taking anywhere between a couple of hours to 10 hours to complete, with some even requiring multiple sessions.

Prashanna Man Pradhan, proprietor of Thamel Babu’s Tattoo and School, Nepal’s first tattoo studio opened in 1994, says earlier tattoos were limited to tribal prints and patterns but now the designs are elaborate, requiring hours of preparation. In 2017, when Donald Trump became the 45th US president, Pradhan drew his face on a Nepali man’s lower back. The man had lost a bet. But these kinds of random, impulsive tattoos are rare, he says. Most of his customers understand the implications of having a tattoo and are clear about what they want—and why.

“This change in how people see tattoos has been a boon to the artists,” says Abhishek Shakya of Tattoo Heritage in Thamel, Kathmandu. When customers know what they want, tattoo-artists can use their creativity to improve on that vision and create something meaningful and timeless. A student of fine arts specializing in Thangka painting and metal-carving, Shakya enjoys carving tattoos of traditional Nepali prints that have historical and cultural significance. “It’s not unusual for people to want a tattoo to mark a memory or keep a loved one close to their heart. Often, they are also reminders or amulets of sorts,” he says.

Tattooing has been practiced by different cultures for centuries. The oldest proof is a 5,300-year-old body of a man who remained frozen in a glacier in Italy, where it was discovered by two hikers in 1991. He had 61 geometric designs on his wrist, torso, lower back and legs. Ancient body art, dating back at least 3,000 years, has also been found in human remains in Chile, Egypt, China, and Russia. The ancient Greeks used tattoos to communicate among spies. The Romans marked criminals and slaves with tattoos. In Japan, too, a line was tattooed across criminals’ foreheads, with arches for each offense thereafter. The totality of three tattoos made the Japanese symbol for ‘dog’. Before going to war, some Europeans inked a cross on their hands or arms, which meant they wanted a Christian burial should they be killed.

In Nepal, too, tattooing has been a part of many communities, especially the Tharus. Their women have traditionally marked their bodies with lines, dots and crosses to enhance their beauty, like a permanent form of jewelry. Tattoos also had a protective purpose. In the bygone eras, it saved Tharu women from being kidnapped and kept as sex slaves by royals who apparently disliked tattoos of tribal and indigenous origin. Despite its cultural ties, tattoos get a bad rap as people associate them with drug addicts, goons, and prisoners. Shakya says one reason could be that previously tattoos were sloppily done and thus gave a ‘dirty’ impression. 

However, Kshitiz Shrestha of Tattoo Pasal in Jyatha, Thamel, says tattoos are widely accepted as art today. People use body art as a way to express themselves and to assert ownership of their bodies in a world that mandates conformity. It’s more or less an extension of their personalities. Shrestha says, as surprising as it might sound, youngsters are getting tattoos of gods and goddesses (albeit with a few tweaks). Older, god-fearing parents apparently find these images harder to object to. “You can say a tattoo is a talisman. I have seen it increase people’s confidence and foster body positivity,” he says.

But getting a tattoo is a major decision and the artists advise caution. Though tattoo removal is available, it’s a lengthy and painful process. Samyak Shakya, who runs a tattoo studio in Balkumari, Lalitpur, says youngsters often get tattooed on a whim. It’s also the artists’ job to counsel such clients and make them aware of what they are getting into. “You shouldn’t go by aesthetics alone. A tattoo has to look nice but that shouldn’t be the only reason you want one,” he says.

Even if you are sure about the kind of tattoo you want, it would be best to ensure the artist you go to gets your concept and will be able to execute it properly. “For that, you need to know what kind of art the tattooist or the studio you are going to specializes in. Some are good with traditional designs while others are good at modern art,” says Shrestha.

Anil Tamrakar, founder of Traditional Tattoo Nepal in Mangal Bazaar, Patan, says tattoos aren’t for everyone. Though it’s a personal choice, you shouldn’t get one because it’s trendy or you feel like it. In these fast-paced digital times where memories can be made and erased with ease, body art can be an indelible illustration of what’s important. But it’s also a lifelong commitment. “If you get a tattoo because the design symbolizes something you believe in or marks an occasion, you are less likely to regret it 10 years down the line when the novelty wears off,” Tamrakar says.

Juju Tamang, artist at Freak Street Tattoo in Basantapur, Kathmandu, who has made over 300 designs in his seven years in the business, says tattoo-placement is vital as well.

“Tattoos on the neck, wrist, and ribs are challenging for the artists as we have to be extremely careful in these delicate areas. But often these are the very places people want tattooed,” says Tamang. Shakya of Tattoo Heritage adds that he suggests his clients make tattoos in less noticeable places but inspired by their favorite Bollywood and Hollywood actors, people still want to tattoo their forearms and necks.

There have been instances of people having been asked to remove visible tattoos prior to medical tests that they had to undergo to be eligible to work in places like Qatar and the UAE. Although the stigma around tattoos has certainly gone down, most workplaces still frown on their open display. So making tattoos in easy-to-conceal places might be a better idea, counsel tattooists.  

Two major Sri Lankan newspapers are suspending their print editions because of a lack of paper, their owner said, the latest casualties in the island nation’s economic crisis, Aljazeera reported.

The South Asian nation of 22 million people is facing its worst economic meltdown since independence from Britain in 1948 after its foreign reserves hit rock bottom.

Privately owned Upali Newspapers on Friday said their English-language daily, The Island, and its sister Sinhalese version, Divaina, will only be available online “in view of the prevailing newsprint shortage”.

Other main national dailies have also reduced pages after costs soared by more than a third in the past five months and because of difficulties securing supplies from abroad.

School tests for nearly three million of Sri Lanka’s 4.5 million pupils were postponed indefinitely last week after the authorities failed to source enough paper and ink, according to Aljazeera.

The dollar shortage has caused energy shortages affecting all sectors and led to skyrocketing prices with inflation at a record 17.5 percent in February, the fifth consecutive monthly high.

Motorists have to queue at gasoline pumps and at least four people have died in the past week while waiting long hours to top up.

Energy ministry officials said they managed to raise $42m by Friday to pay for a cargo of diesel and aviation fuel, held up at the Colombo port for nearly two weeks because there were no dollars to pay for it.

Earlier this month, the government allowed the rupee to depreciate and announced it will seek an IMF bailout to restructure its foreign debt, Aljazeera reported.

Sri Lanka needs nearly $7bn to service its external debt this year while the country’s foreign reserves have hit $2.3bn, down from $7.5bn when the current government came to power in November 2019.

The island is also seeking more loans from India, China and other countries to overcome its currency crisis.

Sri Lanka was in a deep economic crisis when the pandemic hit, reducing foreign worker remittances and crippling the lucrative tourism sector, a key source of dollars for the economy, according to Aljazeera.

A man died after a bus hit a bike in Bhaktapur on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Ramesh Timilsina (36) of Sudan, Changunarayan Municipality-8.

The incident occurred when the bus (Ba 4 Kha 2001) heading towards Sallaghari from Radhe Radhe hit the bike (3-02-006 Pa 6114) yesterday, police said.

Critically injured in the incident, Timilsina breathed his last during the course of treatment, the Metropolitan Police Range, Bhaktapur said.

Police said that they are searching for the bus driver who fled the scene after the incident.