We went to the country
In which Rimli was born
To her it was normal
To us it was 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 Steve helped us to dress right
so we would fit in

Took us shopping for new clothes
For Mom cotton salwar kamais
For Dad shite 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 Steve
Hardly had looked at "the book"
Knew he'd come up with something
To do, hook or crook

And by golly, he did!
Evey day something new
Here and there, up and down
How our experience grew!

With a rainbow striped bag
And a pair of back packs
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)

Train, train, 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 our Steve
We ate all the right foods
We knew just what to do

We looked at the menus
Wouldn't know what to eat
But he 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
Chanas, 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
He made all the plans
Left us no room to grumble

We went to palaces, forts and museums
He stuck by our side
No, in front "mother duck"
With the duckling behind
To have him lead 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 he now calls home

But till then we'll remember
With great thankfulness
A trip, save his effort
Would have been so much less