“Does anybody else think this time the town is lit more than usual?” I wondered aloud in the car. When my family nodded in agreement, I knew I was right. My family otherwise revels in a debate; we seldom agree on anything; even if the sky was clear blue on a particular day, my family could contest on the shades of the specific blue. Hence it got established that this particular year our lovely little town, our Naperville was more bedecked, more lit, more joyous than we had ever seen before. I was intrigued; but of course, this was a year of the pandemic, job losses, no-parties, and a plethora of other gloomy things.
When my mind is confused, I know that research on the internet is futile. Futile because an internet-(re)search is biased and dubious;internet-research is catering to the point of view of the researcher; it’s very much like news these days;biased-opinions. So, I turn to friends who I think would give me accurate information. I called up Karuna. If anybody in Naperville knew about the affairs of the lights, she had to be Karuna.
Karuna first confirmed my beliefs that this time the town was lit to the hilt. She even told me that lights were all sold-out since the last week of November. She had also chatted with some unknown-friendly folks. These unknown-friendly folks chatted with Karuna while adorning their houses with holiday lights. This time because the year was murky, the people of Naperville have stepped up and done everything in their control to uplift the moods of the residents. And, Karuna drew out maps for us(based on the released maps from The Believe House in Naperville) for the houses and neighborhoods that had gone overboard in cheering the residents up. She even wrote tiny observations like “ Indian wedding house” next to the addresses.
Since the first week of December, we have been touring the routes Karuna gives us. My children ask if a particular lit house will meet Karuna aunty’s approval!
If you have still not toured the Naperville neighborhoods, you are missing something. Here are some pictures that Karuna took-
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