For those who wonder about her unusual-for-an-English-girl complexion and features, I have uncovered her secret; Georgina Ragaven is Greek! Hers is an interesting story. No wonder, she?s an aerobics instructor. And nice Greek girls don?t teach aerobics, you see, they teach English or French! And they don?t marry ?Indian? men, only nice boys from Cyprus!

And she nearly did, our Georgina. Just out of high school, young Georgie goes on a field trip with her class in North London. It was one of those ?bring-a-friend trips.? And this Mauritian guy in her class brought three of them. And Georgina thought: ?Oh I like the look of him!? Except that her orthodox parents wouldn?t and she decided not to give him another thought.

But Raj, as the nice-looking man was called, would have none of it; he pursued her until she said yes - and gladly so. But when Georgina told her parents about her new boyfriend, their reaction was immediate; next thing she knows she was engaged to this guy in Cyprus she had never met!

Georgina being Georgina, she somehow managed to get out of it? and eloped with Raj five months after their meeting! Last year, they celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary. ?When one of our friends made a speech, he said ?hats off!? to Raj because he had the guts to marry the girl he loved?, says an emotional Georgina. She gets emotional about it because, in the 12 years she has lived in the country, people have broken her heart with their sorry tales of a marriage gone wrong. ?And yet, no one dares to walk out because, in this country, everyone is intent on living a lie?, adds Georgina.

Her love story with Mauritius started quite late in her married life. For a long time, Mauritius remained her husband?s ?home? until one day, ten years after she got married, the husband decided that his wife and son should visit the island. ?And I fell in love with the place even though it took a lot of going back and forth for the entire family to settle.? It reminded her of her birthplace, Cyprus.

Georgina has a lot of issues with the place, still. Yet she would not dream of living elsewhere. ?I defend this country whenever people speak badly of it?, she says sheepishly after having spent a good ten minutes telling me about the things she doesn?t like! Is she happy here? ?Define happiness?, she replies. I don?t know, maybe not to wish for anything else, she smiles. would she rather be somebody else, be elsewhere? ?Happiness is a state of mind and if I had to do it all over again, I would.? But she often wonders, Georgina, what if, what if?

It often came back in our conversation. ?Being a mother now, the notion of a child eloping takes a new meaning. Would I have done the same thing knowing what it feels to be a mum? Would I have left the country had I known that my father would die without me being able to say goodbye?? Will we ever know Georgina?