Indian businesses and services in Houston, United States

Hillcroft Avenue in south-west Houston is the city's best-known South Asian district, and a stretch of it is officially designated the Mahatma Gandhi District. Indian and Pakistani grocers, sweet shops, sari and jewellery stores and restaurants sit side by side in a series of strip centres, and the area is busiest on Friday evenings and weekends, especially in the run-up to Diwali and Eid. The community has also spread far into the suburbs, particularly Sugar Land, Stafford, Missouri City, Katy and Pearland, where newer plazas carry many of the same kinds of businesses.

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir near Stafford, a hand-carved stone mandir opened in 2004 that welcomes visitors, is a landmark for the region, and the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, built in South Indian style and consecrated in 1982, is described as the oldest Hindu temple in Texas. Gurdwaras, Jain centres and mosques serving Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian Muslim families are found across the metro.

Houston is spread out and public transit does not reach most of these areas well, so a car is close to essential. Summers are long, hot and humid, and the big community events tend to cluster in the cooler months: Navratri garba draws large crowds to rented halls in the autumn, and Diwali is marked at temples and community events across the city.