Spunkiness and Funkiness galore

If the name ‘SPUNKYFUNKYME’ does not grab you then the blogposts sporting short bursts of flash fiction surely will. And why should they not, especially when they have been bestowed with ‘WOW’ badges by blogadda.com.

SPUNKYFUNKYME is Lucille Pereira and her spunkiness and funkiness is reflected in her writings. Her joie de vivre is apparent in the way she describes herself: crazy. lazy. enthusiastic. vivacious. yoga lover. animal lover. coffee addict. powerpoint psycho. nature freak. music geek. moody. stubborn. DIY lover. dreamer. font crazy. indoor dancer. bathroom singer. pop psychologist. psuedo designer. writer.

Her sense of fun carries over in the names given to the Categories under which the posts are collated: Bloggers Park, Heart-to-Heart, Mumbai Mania, This Happens Only In India and Adventure.

Being a hearty Mumbaikar, my attention is first drawn to the Mumbai Mania and then Heart to Heart. Okay, actually the other way round. I am an incurable romantic, that way. And I am not disappointed.  The Hues of Romance warms all the cockles of my heart while Have You Ever Wondered makes me ponder.

Can one be called a true Mumbaikar if they have never commuted by the local train? SPUNKYFUNKYME admits, “ I am enamored by local trains and all that goes on within the dabbas….and let’s not get started on  my shopping in the train… clips, earrings, horrible prawns, fruits & vegetables (yes, yes I’m a ‘train-shopping junkie, and Rs. 10 shopping fascinates me!).”

And then there’s an unexpected encounter in the train which you don’t want to miss:
http://spunkyfunkyme.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/dance-on-wheels/

Yet another category that’s worth a dekko is This Happens Only In India. SPUNKYFUNKYME holds back neither her emotions nor her words as she gives vent to her opinions on terrorism and on honouring ‘real’ heroes, besides other such topics.

Blogger’s Park gives us book reviews and stories of spunkyfunkyme’s experiences at Blogger meets while the Adventure series reveals to the reader SPUNKYFUNKYME’s trekker avatar through her tales of myriad treks.

ADVENTURE – Rafting
(Pic courtesy: spunkyfunkyme)

And it has been a happy adventure for me too, as I have traipsed through the well-designed, easy-on-the-eye blog, taking in the different impressions and seeing SPUNKYFUNKYME’s blogging journey of 5 years.

This was supposed to be a Christmas gift for SPUNKYFUNKYME (me being a secret blog elf and this review being a surprise gift for her and the sweet gesture orchestrated by the inimitable Vinita Bahl and Janaki Nagaraj of Indiblogeshwaris) but like it is with all gifts that come from the heart, the giver is the one who feels happier.

Though the posts seem to have been put on a backburner while SPUNKYFUNKYME gets more active on Twitter,  the blog is definitely worth a visit.

‘In the Body of the World’ by Eve Ensler – Book Review

(This book review  is part of the Anniversary Issue of The Four Quarters Magazine).

“If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred,” declared Walt Whitman.

Gloria Steinem, in the preface to The Vagina Monologues wishes, “my own foremothers had known their bodies were sacred.”

“I was burning and nauseous and feverish and weak. I was of the body, in the body. I was body.
Body. Body. Body.” – Eve Ensler, In The Body of the World.

‘In the Body of the World’ is a no holds barred account by Eve Ensler of her battle not just with cancer but also the demons of her childhood sexual and physical abuse by her father. Ensler also tells of the deep emptiness she felt within herself that was caused by her mother’s silence and unwillingness to protect her from that abuse. This multi-dimensional book weaves into an untraditional tapestry, the warp of her battle with cancer with the weft of her tumultuous relationship with her mother. That she gained victory over her illness and survived to tell her story is aptly proved by the elegant, golden ‘V’ on the cover of the book.  That she continued to crave the love of her mother but never got it, is also ironically proved by the waiting arms of the ‘V’ which she never felt go around herself.

Entwined with the stories of illness and abuse is yet another story Ensler tells of the time Read the rest here