We came to the country
In which Rimli was born
To her it was normal
But to us very Foreign
We were just greenhorns
Wouldn’t know what to do
Where to go, what to see
Or even how to
We arrived with our luggage
Full to the brim
But you helped us to dress right
So we might fit in
Took us shopping for new clothes
For mom cotton salwar kamis
For dad white pajamas,
Cool and fancy punjabis
Left our luggage at Ma’s
After what she called a “snack”
Struck off into yonder
Without looking back
We depended on you
Hardly had looked at “the book”
Knew you’d come up with something
To do, hook or crook
And by golly you did
Every day something new
Here and there, up and down
How our experience grew!
With a rainbow striped bag
And a pair of backpacks
We covered the miles
Boy, we really made tracks
In all kinds of transport
We had to try them all out
Autos, rickshaws and taxis
Hauled us round and about
Buses and tempos,
Shared-jeeps and trains
(Elephants and camels
Left “behind” a few pains)
Trains, trains, oh yes the trains
How could we have managed
To get on or off or in the right bed
Had we made a mistake,
What disaster ahead!
City dogs, city pigs
City cows, what a sight
Mixed in with the traffic
How can their diets be right?

But our diets were fine
Many thanks to you
We ate all the right foods
We knew just what to do
We looked at the menus
Wouldn’t know what to eat
But you taught us the words
So we’d know what’s a treat
Puri luchi in dahbas, drank jal
We tasted our way through
All kinds of new foods
Once we knew what to do
We ate aloo matter,
Chana, paneer
Lots of rotis and nan
And sometimes a beer
Ate gobhi, murgh, doi
And lots of chapatis
Baigan, biriyani
Drank coconut milk and lassis
We ate masala and dahl
Without getting sick
I guess lots of mishtis and chai
Did the trick
We saw rhinos, tigers and jackals,
Plus a creeping mongoose
Elephants and monkeys
All wild, free and loose
We slept in all kinds of places,
Some elegant, some humble
You made all the plans
Left us no room to grumble,
We went to palaces, forts, and museums
You stuck by our sides, - no, in front “mother duck”
With the ducklings behind
To have you with us-what luck!
We sure made a fine start,
With so much more to know,
And we’ll hope for an encore
In the next year or so
Maybe south from Kolkata
To travel and roam,
And learn even more about
The place you now call home.
But till then we’ll remember
With great thankfulness,
A trip, save your effort,
Would have been so much less.

Thanks, Steve
Love, Mom and Dad