KOCHI: N Ramachandran had a sweet vacation in mind when he took his wife, daughter and two grandchildren to Baisaran, the fabled valley known as Mini Switzerland, in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on Monday.
However, the family’s excitement and happiness gave way to shock, horror and grief as terrorists mercilessly gunned down Ramachandran and 24 other tourists on Tuesday.
A Gulf returnee, Ramachandran had set off for Kashmir with wife Shiela, daughter Arathy and grandchildren Kedar and Drupath on Monday. The children were in high spirits, hoping to experience Kashmir’s cool weather and take in the snow-clad mountains.
“Arathy accompanied Ramachandran to trek the hills to visit Baisaran. Shiela stayed back as she had difficulty climbing. Arathy said the terrorists suddenly emerged from the pine forest and asked tourists for their identity. When Ramachandran revealed his name, they shot him point-blank. Arathy screamed and ran. The terrorists spared the driver as he was a Muslim,” said N C Induchoodan, retired deputy conservator of forest and Ramachandran’s cousin.
“Uncle returned from Qatar two years ago and was enjoying the retired life with Arathy and the grandchildren,” said actor Shankar Induchoodan, son of Induchoodan.
Theirs was a close-knit family, says relative
“Arathy, who was with her husband in Dubai, had returned to Kochi a year ago to facilitate the education of the children. It was a closely-knit family and he shared a rare emotional bond with his grandchildren,” said Shankar. Ramachandran’s son Aravind, a company secretary in Bengaluru, reached Kochi on Wednesday. His brother Rajendran had left for the US to visit his children. His sister Rajeswari is settled in Hyderabad. A BJP supporter, Ramachandran had contested the Ernakulam district council election in 1992.
