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Living with the Komandurs is Sriram's mother Prabha, a housewife as well as his grandmother, who is in her nineties, and his cousin Vijaya, a retired schoolteacher.
"I don't vote because I am disillusioned with all political parties," says Prabha, shaking her head dismissively as she walks into the kitchen, bowing out of the discussion.
The rest of the family makes up for her disinterest with their vehement views. Interestingly, they discover they all support the Bharatiya Janata Party. They had not discussed whom they will vote for earlier -- something they do individually and not on the basis of a family consensus.
"The BJP might not be an ideal party, but I have disliked the Congress right from the Emergency years, when I was just a child in school," says Supriya. "I detest dynastic rule and hate the idea of a family, even [when it was] Jawaharlal Nehru, ruling over a country.
"Besides, I somehow feel the last few years, under the BJP, have been far better than [India's] earlier ones. Take even the Indo-Pak relationship: at least on the surface of it, things seems better than before. Worse things than Godhra have happened in Indian history -- I feel issues concerning the minorities are always blown out of proportion in our country."
Says Sriram, "Vajpayee has instilled a sense of pride in being an Indian. The Congress institutionalized corruption in this country. I was so ashamed of belonging to what is called the 13th most corrupt country in the world. I used to like Rajiv Gandhi a lot before. I liked his freshness and sincerity. But I do not like the sycophancy of the Congress. The entire party cannot look beyond the Gandhi family, which I think is a disgusting state of affairs. If the Congress changed its leadership, I might begin to feel differently about the party."
Cousin Vijaya simply likes the change in the country over the past five years of BJP rule. "I too liked Rajiv Gandhi a lot," she says regretfully. "But he did not live up to the promise he showed. The Congress made corruption such a byword in India.
"I like what the BJP has done for us. I only wish they would have some better programmes for senior citizens. Perhaps health insurance schemes, social welfare schemes, that sort of thing. But I will still vote for the BJP, whether they do all this or not."
Supriya has the last word, even as her daughters listen eagerly. "Somehow, there is a feeling that the right values and traditions will be sustained for the next generation by the BJP," she says. "I do not like the attitudes of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. We should not give room for those attitudes when it comes to foreign policy. But there is still some truth in all that they say."
The Komandurs spoke to M D Riti
Next: 'They have not even asked for our votes'
Previous: 'Advani is a good man'
How We Will Vote
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