By Balwant Sanghera

After spending a few days in Mexico, it was time to return to the U.S. After crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S. we decided to spend some time in a spacious mall just a few kilometers from the Mexican border.After doing some shopping and enjoying refreshments, we left for San Diego. San Diego is well known for its beaches, parks and warm climate. This city is home to the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Also, San Diego has lots of galleries, artist studios museums and gardens. This city of more than 1.3 million people has a very deep harbour that is home toa  large active naval fleet. 70 miles of pristine beaches and a dazzling array of world class family attractions make this city very attractive to visitors from all over. San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Seaworld and Legoland are some of this city’s other attractions. After spending couple of days in San Diego, we were off to Manteca in central California to meet some more relatives. 

Manteca is a mid size city of some 85,000 residents. In this area there a large number of well settled Punjabi families.  One of such families is closely related to us. They have an almond farm surrounding a very spacious residence. The beauty of these almond, grape and other fruit farms is that they are in a straight line from whichever side you look at them. Also, there is few feet of distance between the rows. I found it quite convenient and comfortable to go for long walks between these spaces. Our relatives have all kind of fruit trees around the house. Thus, it was a pleasure to walk around the house and enjoy eating these fruits.

Manteca has a good sized Gurdwara.Similarly, Manteca’s neighbouring communities like Tracy, Lodi, Stockton etc. have spacious Gurdwaras. Most of these Gurdwaras have a large acreage with them for future expansion. During our trip we had an opportunity to attend a wedding in Selma. Selma is known as the capital of resin. Some of the Punjabi farmers in this area are known as the almond king or resin king etc. This is a matter of great pride for our community. People of Indian Origin in general and Punjabis in particular have made unbelievable progress not only in California but also all around the globe. Their ethics of hard work, perseverance and resilience have enabled them to succeed despite severe hardships. Countries like the United States, Canada, U.K, Australia and New Zealand are shining examples of their success. 

While visiting California one is reminded of Punjab. The weather is warm year around and hot during the summer months. Punjab is famous for its flowing fields of wheat, rice paddy and sugarcane etc. However, California is famous for its miles and miles of farms of almonds, resins, oranges and a variety of other fruits. Californians, like Punjabis, have big hearts and are very generous.As a matter of fact, in some parts of California there are mini Punjabs. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Baja California (Mexico) and California (U.S.). We are very thankful to our relatives there for a very warm welcome and wonderful hospitality. It will be great to see them again before long.

Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.