Indian businesses and services in Phoenix, United States

Phoenix does not have a single Little India, and anyone looking for one will drive around for a while. The Indian community here grew with the Valley's technology and engineering employers, and much of it lives in the south-east suburbs, especially Chandler, with others in Tempe, Gilbert and Mesa and smaller clusters elsewhere in the metro. Indian grocery stores, sweet shops and restaurants tend to sit in suburban strip malls rather than along one street, so it helps to know which part of the Valley you are heading to before you set out.

Religious life is just as spread out. The Maha Ganapati Temple of Arizona, south of the city in Maricopa, is one of the better-known Hindu temples in the region, and there are further mandirs, gurdwaras and mosques with South Asian congregations across the East Valley and beyond. Many of them run language classes, youth programmes and community meals as well as worship, and they are usually the quickest way to find out what is on.

A few practical notes. Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so the gap to India stays at twelve and a half hours all year, which makes scheduling calls home simpler than elsewhere in the US. Summer heat shapes the social calendar, and the busy season for Diwali melas, Navratri garba nights and cultural shows runs from October into spring. Festival dates follow the Hindu lunar calendar and shift every year, so check with the temple or organiser rather than relying on last year's date.