3 min readChandigarhApr 19, 2026 04:15 AM IST
As the first anniversary of the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack approaches, the family of naval officer Lt Vinay Narwal is still grappling with a loss that feels as raw as it did a year ago.
“It feels like I am living that moment every single day,” Lt Vinay’s father, Rajesh Narwal, told The Indian Express. “A father is not meant to carry his son’s loss like this… but I carry it every day, like a weight that never lifts.”
Lt Vinay got married just days before the tragedy struck. “It was on April 16 that Vinay got married to Himanshi,” his father recalled. “What should have been the beginning of a new life turned into something we relive with pain every day,” Rajesh, who works in the customs department and is currently posted in Panipat, said.
A photo of a shocked Himanshi after the attack — seated next to Vinay’s body, stretched out on a brown patch in the Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam — remains one of the most haunting images from that day. Twenty-five tourists and a local ponywallah had died in the terror attack.
“Till I was around 53 years old, life passed in the blink of an eye. But after that day, every single day feels like a mountain I have to climb,” he said. “People say time heals, but for a father, time only stretches the silence. Each day feels heavier than the last. You don’t move on from something like this. You just learn how to carry it.”
Himanshi continues to work in Gurugram, a job she had joined before the tragedy struck. “She is our daughter, and we stay in touch. But it is better that she stays busy,” Narwal said, adding that “work helps keep the mind occupied, even if the heart is still heavy”.
Vinay’s younger sister, Srishti, is pursuing her PhD while also preparing for the civil services. Narwhal said that although he had visited Kashmir several times before, he has not returned since the incident.
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The family said they continue to receive support from across the country. “Local leaders, regardless of political party, are still in touch. They call, they visit,” he said. “The government has also been very sensitive towards us.”
Friends and colleagues of Vinay also remain closely connected with the family. “It feels like the entire nation is standing with us even today,” he said. “His friends come, they stay with us, they remember him with us. That gives some strength.”
“Last Rakshabandhan, his friends came from all over the country. One even came from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They keep asking if we need anything; it shows he is still alive in their hearts,” he said.
“As a father, I keep thinking, ‘if only I could take his place’,” he said. “But life does not work that way. So you wake up, you carry the pain, and you get through another day.”
