Indra Bahadur with the assistance of his eldest son Singha Bahadur custom, made all his tattoo machines. These machines are kept in excellent working condition to this day his son Harkha Bahadur. These machines were made from all kinds of parts ingeniously place together. He is machine parts ranging from the hard rubber heel of a shoe to a gramophone spring. Lastly, he was very secretive of his machines and to protect his trade from prying eyes, he devised a cover to conceal the tattoo guns......

Continue Reading

A nostalgic photo captured with Indra Bahadur and a friend outside New Lucky Store in 1960s. The shop was situated at 37 Bras Basah Road. New Lucky Store started in 1959 in Singapore by Indra Bahadur the two thumbed Gurkha tattoo artist. Today these cluster of shophouses has been transformed into Rendezvous Hotel Singapore....

Continue Reading

Indra Bahadur became famous for his undeniable artistic abilities but most of all his unique identity that captivated all who knew him as the Two Thumbed Gurkha Tattoo Artist. For the tattoo master genuinely had two thumbs on his right tattoo hand. He painstakingly crafted his tattoo machines to custom to fit the grip of his hand....

Continue Reading

Hand-drawn illustrations of popular tattoo designs in the 1950s.These tattoo flash were framed up on the walls of New Lucky Store. The framed designs had numbers on them; the customer would point out the design they wanted to get tattooed. Indra would then draw the design freehand directly onto the skin with a simple pen. Many of these designs had the letters ‘NFLP’,  which meant ‘not for local people.’ They were emblems that gangs used and Indra was banned from tattooing these on the locals in......

Continue Reading