‘I saw my father fall’: Kochi woman recounts Kashmir terror horror

The lush, postcard-perfect meadows of Baisaran in Pahalgam—dubbed the ‘Mini Switzerland’ of Kashmir—turned into a nightmare for Arathi R Menon, a native of Kochi, as she witnessed her father being gunned down in a sudden terror strike.

Three days after the bloodshed, Menon is back in Kerala, still haunted by the horror she faced while walking with her father N Ramachandran and six-year-old twin sons through the scenic valley.

“We thought it was fireworks at first,” she told reporters, her voice still shaking. “Then came the second shot—I knew it was a terror attack.”

Menon, 65-year-old Ramachandran, and her sons were strolling through a grassy trail when chaos exploded. Her mother, Sheela, had stayed behind in the car. What was supposed to be a peaceful family outing turned tragic in a matter of seconds.

"We tried to escape under the fence, but a man emerged from the woods. He looked right at us and spoke in a language we didn’t understand," she said. When they responded that they didn’t know what he was saying, "he opened fire. My father collapsed beside us."

Also Read: 'Seven days ago, Pakistan’s army chief issued veiled threat against Hindus': Himanta on Pahalgam attack

She saw at least two gunmen, neither in uniform.

With adrenaline and terror driving her, Menon clutched her boys and fled into the forest, wandering for nearly an hour, following pony footprints and desperately seekinga  signal on her phone.

When she finally managed to contact their driver, Musafir, he and another local, Sameer, became her lifeline. "They were like my brothers. They stood by me, helped me through the formalities, and stayed with me till 3 AM," she said tearfully. "I have two brothers in Kashmir now. May Allah protect them."

In the aftermath, Menon faced an even more daunting task—protecting her grieving mother from the truth. For two days, she pretended Ramachandran was still alive, shielding her mother from the heartbreak while arranging to bring his body back to Kochi.

“I had to be strong. I couldn’t afford to break down.”

The family had landed in Kashmir on April 21, their first visit to the region. What was meant to be a dream vacation ended in devastation.

Ramachandran’s mortal remains were flown to Kochi on Wednesday evening. His final rites will be performed at Edappally public crematorium at 11 AM on Friday, after public homage at Changampuzha Park.

Tuesday’s terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people, most of them tourists. For Menon, one of the survivors, it marked the day Kashmir’s beauty turned into an indelible scar.