Sunday Soul Sante has a special place in our heart. It's where our tattoo adventure began during Diwali last year. Now here we were, back for the Christmas edition.

Bangalore mornings have this quality about them, don't they? The air was still cool when we arrived, the sky turning that particular shade of pink that makes even the most sleep-deprived vendor smile. I was running on about four hours of sleep and way too much coffee, but the energy of the place was infectious.

We weren't even finished setting up when this tiny voice piped up, "Can I have these tattoos?" There she was, maybe six years old, pointing excitedly at our flash sheets. Her mom caught up moments later, eyebrows raised in that universal parent look of "what is my child getting into now?" But then something magical happened. Instead of the usual polite decline, her mom's eyes lit up like she'd found buried treasure.

"These are vegetable ink?" she asked, touching the corner of a sheet. When I nodded, she immediately rolled up her sleeve. "Then I'm getting one too!"

That mother-daughter duo set the tone for everything that followed. Their matching butterfly designs.

After the girl left, this lady walked up - didn't even pause to think - and got two tattoos right off the bat. Mind you, this was all happening while I was still fumbling with display sheets and Aditya was trying to untangle our banner cords. Setting up would've been a nightmare without him there. Seriously, Aditya, if you're reading this - thank you buddy!

Just as we finally set up the stall, our X-men showed, Garima, Rasagy, and Rashmi, looking far more awake than anyone has the right to be at that hour. Thank you so much guys for your help!!!

Our stall sign - "Fake Tattoos for Real People" - became the day's unexpected star. Lost count of how many people pointed at it, laughing, or nudged their friends. One group of college kids had an entire photoshoot with it. Something about the honesty of it just hit right.

By noon, the queue situation was getting ridiculous. The kids were the best part. Their pure wonderment at watching the paper pull away to reveal their chosen design - that gasp, followed by the biggest grin. One little boy must have shown his dinosaur tattoo to every single vendor at the market.

Then there were the teenagers, trying so hard to act cool while clearly thrilled. "My mom's going to freak," one girl giggled.

The parents were my favorites though. These grown adults with serious jobs and responsibilities, secretly excited about temporary tattoos. One dad got matching butterflies with his son, and I swear he was more excited than the kid.

As the sun began to set, the fairy lights came on around the market, and Bangalore did that thing it does, where the evening crowd has completely different energy than the day crowd. More date-night couples, more groups of friends, everyone a bit more relaxed.

The crowd shifted into this perfect chill vibe. People would wander up, take their sweet time browsing our designs, no rush at all. My favorite was watching them pull out their phone flashlights to inspect the tattoos under brighter light, turning their wrists this way and that. "I need to know how this'll look tomorrow.
These little moments of deliberate decision-making over something temporary - there's something so uniquely human about it.

By the time we packed up, well past the official end time, my voice was hoarse from telling our story so many times. But my heart was full. There's something about seeing someone look at their wrist or arm with newfound delight that just never gets old.

Soul Sante wasn't just a good market day for us. It was a reminder of why we started Anomalie Tattoo Co. in the first place. Those small moments of joy, the stories behind why each person chooses the design they do, the connections made over something as simple as a temporary tattoo.

See you soon :)