Postcard from Bishkek

One day, a few days ago, I went out shopping … and on my way back to the office I saw a sight that had me, (metaphorically at least), kicking myself.  How many times have I said to the kids: “take a camera with you … you never know when you might see something you want to photograph”?   Now, here I was – “hoist by my own petard” …  there was something you don’t see very often, begging to be photographed but I didn’t have a camera with me.

Walking just a few steps in front of me was a thickset man wearing a white, t-back t-shirt (sleeveless, much narrower in the back than the front, designed to expose the shoulder blades with the armholes cat back to a narrow strip of material covering the spine … a style favoured by sportsmen, for example, when working out in a gym).  In wasn’t his costume, however, that attracted my attention.  Rather, it was the the fact that the sides of his head were completely shaved leaving a well defined Mohawk, (or Mohican)  hairstyle – the crop of short hair styled into a long thin triangle, tapering to a point just above the top of his spine, (similar to that adopted by David Beckham ten years ago).

Then there was the fact that that one his  exposed shoulder blades sported an elaborate tattoo.

As I said, you don’t see this sort of thing every day, although in the seventeen years I have been here I have seen a growing tendency for people to seek to express their individuality in such ways.   Once I had gotten over the initial surprise, I caught myself wondering if he was connected with the Manas Transit base.  It’s unlikely, with that particular look,  that he was a serviceman, but there are a number of civilian staff working on contracts in a variety of different capacities … given his build, I thought, he could easily have been one of them.

On the other hand, I noticed that he was talking intently on his mobile phone – and I caught the odd word in Russian, so I came to the conclusion that maybe he was a local. Another option might have been that he was a holidaymaker, stopping over in Bishkek on his way up to one of the resorts by the side of Lake Issyk Kul.

Whatever, he started me thinking and brought back all sorts of memories.

Although it was the hairstyle that initially caught my attention, the tattoos were the more provocative.  We may not see many Mohican’s here, but we do see quite a few tattoos.  Unlike the ships, flowers and scrolls saying “Mum”, (or “Mother”), I have seen some eagles and big cats such as panthers – but the most popular designs seem to be stylized, sweeping, swirling patterns.

There are a number of places where it is possible to get a tattoo, at least here in Bishkek, and I have seen a number of hairdressers advertising the service.  On the other hand, I know one or two people who have decided to have a go at “do-it-yourself” … although, I gather that it was quite painful and their advice to others would now be, “Don’t … Go to a professional!”.

Some of the kids told me a few years ago that they wanted to get a tattoo.  They were mixing with a crowd of young people, (“emos” and “rockers” – and, yes … I know that those two don’t normally go together), several of whom had already got tattoos.  Whern I was asked, “Can I have a tattoo?”, I had to respond that it wasn’t a question for me … they had to ask Mum … at least, that is, until they were old enough to take their own decisions.  On the other hand, if they wanted my advice, then … well, I told them about John.

John  was one of my pupils back when I was teaching Maths in the UK.  He could be a surly boy but, on the whole, he was OK.  One day he looked up from his work and asked me: “Sir, if you had a son, say 14 years old, and he wanted to get a tattoo, would you let hem?”  You’ve guessed it – John was 14 … and I was fairly sure that this wasn’t just an idle question.  I said, “No, probably not”, and as I expected, he immediately came back with “why not?, it’s a free country and it’s his life … if he wants it, why shouldn’t he?”   “Weeeellll, Yeeeessss,” I said, but felt that I had to say just a bit more in justification …: ” he is, after all, just 14 … and if he still wants to go ahead when he’s older, say 18, then OK – it’s his life, so why not …  but, as he’s just 14, his parents still have a responsibility to try and make sure that nothing happens that he will regret later on … and there are a number of other points to bear in mind … it can be painful, there are health risks, (although that shouldn’t be a problem with a properly trained, professional tattooist), and the fact that tattoos can be difficult to remove … “.  I am not sure whether I convinced him, but in place of a tattoo he later appeared with a piercing and an earring.

I felt that there were all sorts of other things I could say … about how tattoos sometimes have negative connotations, (for example, being used for identification in the concentration camps);  how they might look good, freshly drawn on a young, firm body, but look quite different after many years when the inks have faded and the body has changed shape and firmness; how what seems appropriate at one time of life for a body decoration might not seem so appropriate at another time, (it’s not like changing one set of clothes for another as fashions change – or that Mohican hairstyle … the hair will grow back … look at David Beckham’s changing styles over the last decade) … so the choice of subject is very important.

Incidentally, There was an interesting story about tattoos in the news this week.  Apparently, Mrs. Jerri Petersen, an American who works for a hotel chain in the UK, had been nominated to be one of the Olympic Torch Bearers.  She says that she had long considered having a tattoo but wan’t sure about what to have emblazoned across her body, but the honour was something special and, she thought, was sufficiently unique as to merit commemoration in this way.  At first she was very happy with the result until someone pointed out that the tattooist had made a mistake … Olympic had become Oylmpic. When the mistake was pointed out to the artist, she was apparently distraught and straight away offered to correct it – but Mrs. Petersen decided to keep it as it is … in a way, the mistake makes it more unique – more special.

You’ll have gathered by now that, personally, I am not all that keen on tattoos.  I understand that in some cultures, (and sub-cultures), they are important for identification and status as well as for cosmetic or decorative purposes, but I don’t belong to such a culture, (even though the words Britain and Briton are derived from references to the designs that the originally Britons painted on their bodies).  On the other hand, if others such as Justin Beiber, David Beckham or John, want to have them, then I have no problem with that, although I probably wouldn’t choose to have a tattoo, myself.

Anyway, the kids listened to the story of John, and fortunately, that seemed to settle the question – at least until last summer.  When we were up at Issyk Kul, just off the beach was a kiosk where an artist would draw a pattern for you on your body … but it wasn’t a proper tattoo; just a a drawing in ink which would wear off after a while … say a couple of weeks.   Two of the kids decided to give it a try … and spent a few days showing it off … but once it had finally faded away … that was the end of the story.  It was a case of:  ”Been there … Done that … now what?”

 

For the record: … here are some other references to tattoos here in Bishkek from other some blogs which you might find interesting:

• Tattoo in Bishkek | Life in Kyrgyzstan
• It Seemed Like A Good Idea: An Eastern Odyssey: Tattoos in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
• Bishkek Frunze is Dead tattoo - I am having trouble loading this page and so not sure if this post is still live …

 

Tags: Cultural_Differences, Expat, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan