Enter your search terms
	Submit search form

By Sabih Mohsin

      In our perception of a village there was no room for modern amenities of life. These settlements had almost everything: electricity, water, automobile, pucca houses and metalled roads.
     If there is a cactus-lovers’ paradise on earth, it is in Arizona. Cacti of all sizes and all kinds of shapes can be found here: from several times taller than a human being to as small as a golf ball, from flat like a table tennis racket to spherical like a football. Besides, many of them bloom with pretty and bright-coloured flowers.
     When we boarded the plane in New York for Phoenix last November, it was quite cold but we dressed accordingly. It took more than five hours to reach the capital of Arizona and the first thing I did after getting out of the airport was to take off my coat and tie; it was so hot out there.
     The United States of America is a vast country, and, therefore, it has regions that are extremely different from each other in terrain, topography and climate. New York and New Jersey, where I had spent most of my time, were generally cold with significant rainfall, while Arizona was hot and dry. Naturally, the trees and plantations too were different.
     Our destination was Gilbert, about a 45-minute drive from the Phoenix airport. In New York and New Jersey, we had seen the highways lined up on both sides with a natural growth of tall trees having large and thick green leaves. But here the trees were short with small leaves and they were planted with considerable space in between them that was filled with gravel.
     Gilbert has a population of over 200,000 but officially it is still called a town and not a city. It lies in a desert area. The houses there were similar to those in New York and New Jersey except that there were no basements. Perhaps the land was too hard for the digging involved.
     Our stay there was too short for visits to distant tourist spots like the Grand Canyon or the Meteor Crater. But our host did take us to see nearby villages. And it was good because that provided us with a glimpse into rural America which we had not experienced before.But it was difficult for us to believe that they were villages although the signboard clearly described them as such. In our perception of a village there are no modern amenities of life but these settlements had electricity, water, automobiles, pucca houses and metalled roads.
     Perhaps the only thing that justified them for being called a village was the small population and the occupation of inhabitants. Most of them were engaged in agricultural pursuits.As we entered the village we came across a sight that is common in our villages too; a big hen followed by chicks around the courtyard. Next, we passed by a cattle yard with about a dozen cows. Of course, the cows were much healthier than those in our villages. We did not go to the fields which were farther away.
     The next day Fareeha, the elder daughter of our host, took us to the Arizona State University where she studied. It was one of four campuses at the university. We roamed around looking at the big and impressive buildings. Being a weekend no classes were being held on the day, but we still found some people walking down the roads lined with tall palm trees.
       The demographic complexion of Arizona is also extremely different from that of New York. More than 80 per cent of the population is white American. African Americans and Asian Americans, who have a large concentration in New York, form a very small percentage of the population here. The majority of Muslims there are of Arab origin.
     Whether you are looking for the thrill of an outdoor adventure or it is awe-inspiring scenery that you love or you are the type to indulge in a sun-drenched getaway in a world class spa or give preference to the rich history and cultural offerings of the Grand Canyon State, your trip to Arizona will provide you memories for years and years to come.