Finding Amritsar: Haryali, Trauma and the Social Nature of Healing

This journey through Amritsar reaffirmed a simple belief: healing grows through people before prescriptions, through communities before institutions, and through hope before recovery. Prevention, after all, is social.

During my recent visit to Amritsar, I discovered a different Punjab. Outside the state, Punjab is often seen through the lens of Udta Punjab—a story of drugs, addiction and despair. What I experienced, however, was another Punjab: a Punjab of Hariyali (greenery), resilience and hope.

One of the most meaningful moments of my visit was meeting Dr. J.P.S. Bhatia, whose family represents three generations of psychiatrists. As we spoke, he reflected that Punjab has endured repeated historical trauma and that much of it has quietly travelled from one generation to the next. There was a pause in his voice that conveyed more than words could.

This was my second visit to Amritsar. My first was to the Border Security Force Punjab Frontier while working on stress, alcohol use and self-harm among security personnel. Returning after several years, I asked Dr. Bhatia what had changed. His answer was simple: "Not much." After serving on numerous committees, he had decided that his greatest contribution was to remain with his patients.

Walking through the hospital, he introduced me to both his father and his son—three generations of psychiatrists practising under one roof. Surrounded by decades of patient records, I felt as though I was walking through the living history of psychiatry in Punjab.

Our conversation naturally moved to pioneers such as Dr. Vidya Sagar, from whom Dr. Bhatia learnt psychiatry and addiction treatment. I recalled my own interactions with Dr. D. Mohan, former Head of Psychiatry at AIIMS, and Dr. Vidya Sagar through the Drug NGO Forum. Those early conversations shaped my understanding that mental health cannot be understood through medicines alone. 

I was also reminded of an earlier visit to Amritsar with Dr. Michael O. Smith, founder of the NADA Protocol from New York. At that time, discussions around psychiatry were largely centred on pharmacological treatment. This visit felt different. Dr. Bhatia himself spoke of a more holistic approach. When I remarked that psychiatry once depended on only five medicines, his father smiled and corrected me: "Only two." That brief exchange reflected how far psychiatry has evolved.

Today, behavioural health has become an essential part of addiction treatment and mental healthcare. It reminds us that healing is not only about medicines, but also about relationships, families, communities and the environments in which people live.

I read an article in The Indian Express titled "Finding Amritsar." It resonated deeply with my own experience at Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple) 

We waited for more than two hours for darshan. What struck me was not the length of the queue but the atmosphere. Thousands of people waited patiently. There was no pushing, no anxiety, no attempts to move ahead of others. Instead, there was a quiet sense of gratitude. A cool breeze flowing across the Sarovar gently passed through the queue, making the long wait feel surprisingly peaceful.

I also observed Pallavi, who is usually uncomfortable in large crowds. Yet throughout the wait she remained calm and composed. Afterwards, she shared a thought that stayed with me: perhaps anxiety is also social. It passes from one person to another, just as calmness, trust and patience can. We often think anxiety belongs only to an individual, but our social environment has a powerful influence on how we experience and regulate our emotions.

Perhaps acceptance is social too. It develops gradually through repeated experiences of safety, belonging and trust. It cannot be rushed; it requires consistent human connection. In today's fast-moving global economy, many people aspire to become sukhi—to live peacefully and happily—yet often overlook that wellbeing grows through relationships and community as much as through individual success.

Another memorable visit was to Jallianwala Bagh with our host, Er. Daljeet Singh Kohli of Amritsar Hariyawal Manch. The bullet marks of history remain, but they are now embraced by greenery. Standing there, I felt that Hariyali itself had become a response to trauma. It does not erase painful memories; rather, it creates space where healing can coexist with remembrance.

Listening to Dr. Bhatia speak about trauma and Punjab's drug problem strengthened my own belief that substance use is often a response to unresolved trauma, social isolation and complex socio-political realities. If that is so, then prevention cannot begin only in hospitals or rehabilitation centres.

Prevention is social.

It begins long before diagnosis, treatment or even the therapeutic alliance. It begins where people live, learn, work, worship and connect with one another.

This is why the work of Amritsar Hariyawal Manch has added a new dimension to the prevention efforts of Nada India Foundation. Green spaces, behavioural health, community participation and social work are deeply interconnected.

Before leaving, I shared one thought with Dr. Bhatia. Meaningful partnerships should not begin with promises or Memoranda of Understanding. They should begin by creating pathways that people can actually walk together.

For us, one such pathway lies through the Department of Social Work, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Together, we hope to strengthen the journey from Welfare to Wellbeing by connecting psychiatry, behavioural health, public health, environmental stewardship and community social work.

As I left Amritsar, I carried with me a simple but enduring thought: sometimes healing begins not with a prescription, but with a conversation, a shared memory, a patient queue, a cool breeze across the Sarovar, a green landscape, and a community that chooses to heal together.

Editor's Note

The following reflections are based on conversations, field experiences, and talks delivered by Suneel Vatsyayan, Chairperson, Nada India Foundation, during his recent visit to Amritsar. They are personal observations intended to stimulate dialogue on trauma, behavioural health, psychiatry, community wellbeing, and prevention. The views expressed arise from lived experiences, interactions with practitioners, and observations of the social environment rather than being a formal research report.