Echoes Of Mourning From Pahalgam Attack

The afternoon sunlight filtered softly down on Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam바카라�India바카라�s mini Switzerland. It was 2:40 pm on April 22. Honeymooners Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, 26, and Himanshi Sowami were eating bhel puri while admiring the white-tipped mountain peaks. Soon after, a man in army gear shot Narwal.

He was one of the 26 tourists who were shot dead by four men wearing army gear that day. Seventeen others were injured. The terror attack바카라�the worst involving civilians since the 2017 Amarnath Yatra massacre바카라�has reignited calls for war with Pakistan, exposed security gaps in the Valley, and above all, left the families of 26 victims angry and heartbroken.

The government machinery swung into action soon after바카라�Home Minister Amit Shah visited the site of the terror attack and vowed swift action; on April 23, police released the sketches of the suspects; a manhunt ensued. But the families of those who lost someone say all this is not going to bring back their loved ones.

Days after the attack, funerals followed바카라�from Karnal to Kanpur, Kolkata to Mumbai. At each crematorium, a uniformed officer or a city mayor offered folded flags, honours and orations, apologising for security failures and promising justice. Caught amid the solidarity gestures broadcasted live were family members who were trying to make sense of the sudden tragedy as well as the spotlight that followed them to crematoriums. Each action was captured바카라�Srishti Narwal바카라�s trembling hands with which she lit her brother Vinay바카라�s funeral pyre, Kolkata-based Bitan Adhikari바카라�s final journey and eighteen-year-old Richa Mone바카라�s lone march through silent Dombivli streets, mourning her father.

Grief-stricken Family Remembers Narwal

Dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, Rajesh Narwal appeared to float through the duties of a host during his son바카라�s funeral on April 24. At one point in time, he was animatedly describing to a relative how Narwal was shot dead, but mostly he was numb with grief.

Their home in Karnal was filled with relatives, well-wishers from Vinay바카라�s neighbourhood, and his village a few miles away, his college friends and his Navel cadre. Everyone who knew the 26-year-old Lieutenant was red-eyed and in shock바카라�a testament to how beloved he was. 바카라�I바카라�ll miss everything about him; everything,바카라� his father says. His eyes threatened to tear up but since he was surrounded by cameras, he chose to remain strong for his family. However, two days later, while immersing Narwal바카라�s ashes into the river in Haridwar, the grieving father wept inconsolably.

Seema Verma, Narwal family바카라�s neighbour for 17 years, remembers Vinay as a chubby, bright-eyed boy with apple-blossom cheeks, who would come over to learn Science from her. 바카라�When we moved in, he was in Class 5 or 6 at St Kabir Convent. My younger daughter and his sister, Srishti, were in the same class. Even then, he was determined바카라�running rounds in our park, be it evening or afternoon, to lose weight and fit the Navy바카라�s standards,바카라� she recalls.

Verma바카라�s husband Sunil shares that Vinay was particularly close to his grandfather Hawa Singh, a retired police officer, as both bonded over their need to be of service to others. Sunil was Vinay바카라�s Maths tutor in the last few years of school and described him as an 바카라�excellent and hardworking boy.바카라�

Vinay had passed the NDA exams twice before finally joining the Indian Navy. He stood at 5 feet 9 inches, with broad shoulders. His friends and family called him Veer바카라�brave. Last October, he proposed to Himanshi Sowami, a doctoral scholar, in Mussoorie. They married on April 16. It was a long wedding with dozens of functions, each more elaborate and joy-filled than the last, recalls Seema.

바카라�They were so in love, the couple,바카라� she says, adding, 바카라�And the whole family: I was so impressed by how much they liked being around each other and celebrating.바카라�

Initially, Vinay and Himanshi were to honeymoon in Switzerland, but visas did not work out. Vinay바카라�s mother Asha Narwal was keen that the couple stayed back a few days in Karnal to sort it out, but Vinay was on leave from his naval post in Kochi. 바카라�He told Asha ji that there will be time when they get back,바카라� recalls Seema. Six days after their last wedding function, the couple arrived in Kashmir for their honeymoon.

When the shots rang out, Narwal and Himanshi were hand in hand, snacking on bhel puri. Terrorists shot him in the chest in front of his new bride.

At the crematorium, Srishti, who is only a year younger than Narwal, performed the final rituals for her brother. At one point, her stoic mask cracked when faced with Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. 바카라�No one was there for my brother for one-and-a-half hours. If they had been there, maybe he바카라�d be alive,바카라� she cried at the CM, adding that she wants her brother바카라�s killers 바카라�dead.바카라�

Inside the Karnal crematorium, as the sun set and darkness engulfed the city, Shrishti바카라�s voice rang clear: 바카라�How could you let this happen? Where was the Army?바카라� she screamed at the CM. Her neighbours and Vinay바카라�s friends, too, voiced the same grievance. The Vermas demanded to know how could Baisaran, a known 바카라�hot spot for tourists,바카라� could have been left unguarded? 바카라�If army people had been there, I do not think this incident would have happened,바카라� says Manoj Kumar, Narwal바카라�s relative. 바카라�It is the biggest flaw of the government,바카라� adds his friend Vikas Malik.

바카라�Sob Shesh바카라�Everything Is Over바카라�

Forty-year-old Bitan Adhikari flew to Kolkata from Florida on April 16. He worked as a test manager at Tata Consultancy Services but came home for Poila Boishakh, the Bengali New Year. On a whim, he and his wife, Sohini Roy, 37, and their son, Hridaan, 3, got on a flight to Srinagar and arrived in Pahalgam on April 22 morning.

Hours later, when the terrorists lined up tourists by religion, they were ordered to unbutton shirts to prove they wore their sacred thread, recalls the family. Bitan did so; and they shot at him thrice. One of the bullets struck his heart, resulting in immediate death. His wife watched with her arms wrapped around their son Hridaan.

Shankar Chakrabarti, Bitan바카라�s uncle, learned of the attack on TV. Fearing the worst, he rushed Bitan바카라�s aging parents to Kolkata airport. When the names of Adhikaris flashed across news channels, the family collapsed. 

Back in Kolkata, the city mayor and state minister received the body. At the Baishnabghata home, Bitan바카라�s septuagenarian parents were inconsolable. 바카라�Sob Shesh,바카라� they cried바카라�바카라�everything is over바카라�. Bitan was the family바카라�s sole provider, sending money monthly for food and medicines. West Bengal바카라�s chief minister sanctioned Rs 10 lakhs ex gratia, but Bitan바카라�s death has left an immeasurable void in his family바카라�s lives.

Three Cousins, One Fate

Three maternal cousins from Dombivli바카라�Hemant Joshi (52), Atul Mone (42) and Sanjay Lele (47)바카라�set out for Kashmir with wives and children, believing this to be another family holiday.

Hemant, a shipping logistics executive, was known to his neighbours for his warm demeanour. They say he never failed to greet them with hot cups of tea and warm smiles. Atul, a senior section engineer with Central Railways, was the planner of the family바카라�he had spent weeks working out how to get everyone on board for this trip. Sanjay, a logistics manager, had a creative streak and relished playing tabla on quiet afternoons. Their bodies arrived on April 24 at Bhagshala Maidan for a candlelit vigil. Dusk fell on Dombivli when the three coffins arrived from Srinagar. Across the neighbourhood, schoolchildren wore black bands; neighbours lit lamps in their memory.

Eighteen-year-old Richa Mone remembers hiding when Atul, her father, fell after a hail of bullets. 바카라�He asked if we were Hindu,바카라� she told reporters. 바카라�Then they shot him right in front of me. I couldn바카라�t do anything.바카라� Sanjay, Harshal바카라�s son, braved panic and fear to carry his wounded mother to safety. Dombivli바카라�s tight-knit lanes are wallpapered with condolence banners and photos of the three cousins. The cousins바카라� dreams바카라�for temples, treks, time together바카라�ended in a mindless act of terror.

Avantika Mehta in Karnal, Trisha Majumder in Kolkata and Jinit Parmar in Mumbai