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Jessica Mundroina who found love, romance and the man of her dreams in Bahrain, has returned to the island first time in 21 years to meet up with her son who now works here.
Jessica, 55, who comes from the Indian state of Kerala, was given a tour of her old stomping ground last week by her delighted youngest child Parikshith Sambasivan, 27, assistant manager of marketing at Al Areen Resort & Spa.
“I left Bahrain on April 14, 1995, and wow it has changed so much!” she said as she visited the indoor souq in Manama which has become a magnet for tourists and locals alike, after an earlier rendezvous to the Sitra area where she once worked.
“I’m very impressed by the changes.” she added. “The delightful indoor souq building with its coffee shops and eateries is so different from other market places I have visited, even in Canada and Dubai, and, of course, you can then set off for a wander around the open market too.
“Bahrain will always remain close to my heart for so many reasons and I have really enjoyed my short break back here.” Jessica, a consultant, coach and trainer, and her husband, Jerry, were both divorcees who were introduced through mutual friends and they met at Bahrain International Airport when he came over to the island.
Jessica told GulfWeekly earlier how they spent more than two days continuously chatting and at the end they seemed to know each other ‘inside out’. “And, then I said: ‘now what?” cheeky Jessica revealed.
“Let’s get married’. And, he said: ‘yes, good idea!’” The couple tied the knot on March 22, 1995, exactly six days after they had met, at the Registery Office in Manama. Retired sales executive Jerry, 58, who was born in Bangalore but lived in England at the time, said he loved Jessica’s free spiritedness and independent nature.
Thecouple, with five sons between them, flew out to London and didn’t look back. They are now settled in Ernakulam, Kerala, which has been their home since 2008. They plan to return to Bahrain, the island of love, to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and would have brought the trip forward but happy family matters intervened.
Jerry headed to the UK to meet his new grandson, Michael Liam, who had arrived 32 days earlier, and Jessica took the opportunity to meet up with her ‘baby’ at the same time and sight-see her former home for four days.
Parikshith has changed too, said mum, adding: “He looks well fed!” That’s probably thanks to the new Keizo Al Areen Indian restaurant that’s opened at the resort!
