There is something about tattoos that still make us flip in our heads — the high of pain, and the courage to bear the needle as it inks a design or a name on your skin that will stay forever. But let’s face it, not all of us can bear the idea of pain

The excuses are innumerable, and people or philosophies that forbid you from getting inked are all around: bosses or spouses, parents or religion, or a genuine inability to live through the pain and blood. And what if you don’t like it after a while? “I always tell people in such situations that, if you can pull it off, just buy a tattoo sleeve. At least you will temporarily have what you want,” says AJ Alva, a tattoo and piercing artist at Al’s Tattoo Studio at Bandra.