After all, a member of their family -- none other than Gobind Kaur's brother -- is at the helm. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

They take great pride in the fact that Dr Singh, architect of the country's economic reforms, is all set to reprise his role as prime minister, the second leader to hold the post after a full term in office. The only other leader who returned to the top job after a five-year-term was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Kaur's eyes moistened as she recollected her brother's long journey which started in a middle-class family in Pakistan, in 1932.

As soft-spoken as her brother, Kaur and her family arranged for a special prayer recently at a city gurdwara for the incoming government's success.

rediff.com's Indrani Roy Mitra caught up with Kaur, her son Ravinder Pal Singh and his wife Kuki Sahni to find out more about Dr Singh, the brother and the uncle.

The family recently received a formal invitation from the Prime Minister's Office to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

A family-oriented man

To Kaur, Dr Singh is the most affectionate Papaji> (that's what she calls her brother). To her son and daughter-in-law, he is the best uncle one can have.

"Whenever Mamaji is in Kolkata, he invites us over to Raj Bhavan for tea. Though he wants to stay with us, he cannot, because of security reasons," says the prime minister's nephew Ravinder Pal Singh.

"However, aunty (Dr Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur) visits us pretty often. In fact, she is fully updated on family matters, calls us every week and enquires about our health and other family issues."

"When my father passed away a few years back, aunty visited us that very day. You don't expect such attention and involvement from people who have achieved so much," he adds.

"He is the one who got us married," says Kuki Sahni, beaming. "Whenever we meet, he'd ask me about the kids, their studies etc. If I am facing any problem, he'd give me a very patient hearing and then come up with a brilliant solution."