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Showing posts from August, 2026

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 ...