It’s not every day that you hear of a stalwart – a name to reckon with in Canada’s medical fraternity – whose solid educational foundations were laid by disciplined home-schooling and her father. This is just the beginning of an interesting story about how Dr. Lalita Malhotra became what she is – an obstetrician who has delivered over 10,000 babies, a community leader, a philanthropist and more importantly, an example to live by for the Indo-Canadian community since 1975.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
Lalita was born on 2 November 1941 in pre-partition Delhi. An IAS officer in Lahore, her father, Dr. Vaikunth, was a highly intelligent man, with a Ph.D. in mathematics. Like every other family of that time, they too were displaced and settled in Delhi. “I was in grade 4; all of it simply seemed disturbing,” she says. “Times were tough. We were three children – my two sisters and I – for him to support and educate. He launched a company that provided multiple-choice questions-answers for private-school students. It were generally the toppers who’d take them. We would print these booklets at home and post them to schools across India. Back then, the only wealth he had was his intellect and education.”
Soma Devi, Lalita’s mother, enrolled for Montessori teacher’s training to supplement the family income. Education became the bedrock for the family to build its growth.
Due to the break in her schooling, the nuns at the school said she would have to repeat her academic year, which her father flatly refused. “He decided to teach me himself. He was actively involved with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. I would always tag along with him for their meetings. He wouldn’t waste even the commuting time and coached me in the car. So, I was home-schooled until my father, confident of my abilities, decided that I was ready for the grade 10 provincial exams. Although I was only 13, he enrolled me in a private school as a 16-year-old so that I could take the exam,” Lalita smiles.
Upon his advice, Lalita enrolled in a diploma in obstetrics after graduating in medicine from Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. “I joined a private hospital in Delhi as the obstetrician’s assistant in 1964.” It was also here that she met her future husband, Dr. Tilak Malhotra.
With her aims of growth, she, agreeing to her father’s suggestion, decided to take up MRCOG at Royal College Obstetrics Gynaecology London. She married Dr. Tilak in 1969 in India and was already a mother to one when she took the MRCOG exam in 1970. “Tilak was supportive, taking care of Saratha, our eldest daughter, while I took the exam. He appeared for the exam next and earned British, Irish and Scottish fellowships in paediatrics.” With limited career prospects in the UK, they moved to Canada.
Her elder sister, Prem, a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, was instrumental in their move to Canada. Soon, Tilak’s handsome resume took him from Calgary to Prince Albert. “When we arrived, we were only the fourth Indian family in Prince Albert. However, I could not get a job despite being the first female doctor there.” Not the one to be taken down, she started her own practice.
“To my sheer surprise, I examined 12 patients on the very first day. My practice took off and by the end of the first two years, I was seeing over 2500 patients monthly and delivering maximum babies in Saskatchewan.”
When the couple became parents to two more children, son, Rohin, and daughter, Unjali, responsibility grew at home; Lalita continued to take calls 24/7. Soon, the couple combined their skills to start the Malhotra Clinic. “It was a double advantage for patients as I would deliver babies and my husband would treat them.” Their contributions to the Canadian community also grew. Tilak became a trustee of the Hindu Society of Saskatchewan and Lalita one of the founders.
While life was good, Tilak left the world on 17 July 2017. Forty-eight years after their marriage, Lalita felt all alone. Nothing’s been the same since then except her children. Her practice and community service have kept her going. “He would always tell me to continue doing what I did for my patients and the community if he were to leave before me. I am keeping my promise to him.”
Dr. Lalita continues to work 16–17 hours a day. “I have a goal to achieve.” She has donated substantial funds to establish the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) facility at Victoria Hospital so that sick babies in Northern Saskatchewan won’t have to travel to Saskatoon or Regina for treatment and be away from their mothers. “This project is my tribute to to Dr. Tilak.”
Gratitude & hard work are her biggest medals
Her tireless service has earned Lalita the title of the Angel of the North. A few of her many notable achievements include inductee as the Member of Order of Canada in 2006, the highest national honour awarded by the Governor-General of Canada while others are Saskatchewan Order of Merit Award in 2011 by the province of Saskatchewan, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012 by David Johnson, CIBC’s South Asian Humanitarian Award in 2013, the Star Blanket Induction in 2018 by Aboriginal community, the highest honour from northern communities, among several more.
But what she cherishes the most is the gratitude of her patients and community. This gratitude for her is both love and power. “A patient wrote me a poem that epitomises who I am. It is called, ‘My name is Lalita’,” she smiles.
She says that success is never achieved alone, and attributes her’s to the Indo-Canadian community and the sacrifices of my family. She is modest to not acknowledge the fact that people’s love and respect for her are because of her empathetic approach. She has been a mentor, a guide, a doctor and much more to them. She has been vocal about women’s issues and the challenges today’s children face in education and due to peer pressure.
She is a hero for many. “My granddaughter calls me fearless. I feel really proud that I could be an example for people around,” says Dr. Lalita, adding that she, however, would call herself a learner. “We learn so much every day, and our teachers can be a child or an elder. Learning never stops.”
She appreciates other attributes like discipline, a happy disposition, diligence, faith and resilience. A forgiving person, she likes helping people and without being judgmental and values education.
A medical expert, she ardently follows and professes the teachings of the Bhagavad Geeta, which she started reading at the age of 12. “I have gifted each of my grandchildren an English copy of the Bhagavad Geeta. They may be too young to read it, but they soon will flip through the pages.”
Saratha is a physician living in Sault St. Marie with her husband, Jason Giroux, an ophthalmologist, and their three children, Shailan, Kavi and Ila. Rohin is a radiologist and ICU doctor living in Burlington with his wife, Surbhi, a doctor of psychology, and children, Shreyas and Kavya. The youngest, Unjali, is a women’s health physician and menopause specialist, married to Gerry, an Italian accountant and entrepreneur, and lives in Kelowna, BC, with their daughter, Milana.
Indian by heart
As a way of giving back to her motherland, Lalita started the Sask PAPS India project in 2011 with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Government of Saskatchewan, for cervical screening cancer among poor women. On another visit to India in 2019, she decided to help the anaemic women of Gwalior and collaborate with the Canadian High Commissioner in India as well as the Prime Minister’s Office, Ottawa. This project aims to ensure that whatever grant is being sent from Canada reaches the deserving beneficiaries.
Another project Lalita is actively involved in Prince Albert is vocational training for Aboriginal boy students who are not academically brilliant but very skilled with their hands and often drop out of school. “I will never forget my homeland and will leave no opportunity to extend any assistance I can, in any form,” she says.
In the leisure that she finds, Lalita indulges in Indian music, especially classic films and books. “And I love having guests over. The Bhagavad Geeta says, Atithi Devo Bhava.”