Renu Jalota, born in 1942 in Lahore, grew up in Tatanagar and Benares with two brothers and three sisters. Father was a Professor of Psychology.
At age 16, I trained in 80-meter hurdles. Came second in national semi-finals by split second, and narrowly missed representing India in the Asian Olympics. I got my MBBS in 1964 from Government Medical College Amritsar, and then my M.D in Pathology in 1968 from the Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh. In 1969, I joined the University of Utah as a resident in Pathology. After some job changes, in 1982, I moved to Denver as a family physician. I retired in 2007 to pursue my hobbies, but ran into medical problems.
I am an avid mountain climber and have climbed up to 22,500 ft. without oxygen. I have trekked in both Indian and Nepalese Himalaya. Have also done glacier travel in New Zealand and Tasmania. Never married, I have remained independent and active in social and political circles. I visit India often.
When Banaras Hindu University announced the results of I.Sc. (Intermediate science) in June 1959, I was placed in the first division (more than 60 % marks), in premedical subjects. So the next step was to get admission in to a medical college. Mom's best friend suggested to her to try the medical college in Amritsar, as it was established by the faculty of the Lahore Medical College (before India's Partition). Students were selected on merit basis, and minimum age was 17.
