Sailor Today met Mrs. Malhotra during the days of her solo exhibition on the theme of portholes at the Taj Art Gallery. Speaking to the lady unfolded a new perspective in a sailor’s world. One that is far removed from the commercial implications of a cargo cruise, but realistic to the point of being mistaken for an actual rendering.
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Being part of a ship sailing on long voyages, the seafarer will have certainly seen things through a porthole but never perhaps looked at the world through one.
A profoundly thought provoking dimension to portholes has been lent by Mrs. Sheila Malhotra. As wife of Captain S. Malhotra, she had travelled widely along with him on many passages. In fact, during the first six years of “her life at sea” she was just accompanying her captain husband, with nothing specific to do on board. It was much later, that these trips invoked in her a latent awakening for the subject of portholes. Something she has transformed into canvas.
To the visitor there was an interesting showcase of the multifaceted aspect of portholes. Such differing perspectives as an albatross on the top mast of another ship, school of porpoises gambolling alongside another, the different play of lighting on a porthole and even the sight of a sinking ship through a porthole have been contemplated on canvas by Mrs. Sheila Malhotra.
One was struck with the uniqueness of images that lent a total realistic air to the paintings. Each one was different in individual treatment. Some were startlingly surreal, others more direct. For example, one with first view of an approaching ship shrouded in mist, was eerily disturbing. Another one, of a curious bird taking a peep inside an open porthole, while a ship unloads, reflected lighter moments. She has conveyed an artist’s impression of The Milky Way, the setting sun, clear skies with birds in geometrical formations taking flight and merchant ships with their looming structures.
An idea of her creativity was evident in the way a mundane picture of a container laden ship was metamorphosised into brilliant contrasting hues. The painting was yet to near completion, but appeared quite striking even then. Many different types of portholes were portrayed such as old, square, rectangle ones, those with butterfly ears and the more modern round and hermetically sealed ones.

Mrs. Sheila Malhotra says that it is the first of her many exhibitions on the porthole theme.She has to her credit many solo shows at the Conclave Gallery and ANZ Grindlays Bank in Calcutta and at the Taj Art Gallery, Bombay, in addition to a host of group shows in Calcutta, Delhi and Chandigarh. She claims herself to be a woman of the hills with a love for huge wide open spaces, something that has apparently persisted after her marriage with a seafarer.
An interesting manner in which she prepares herself for a theme is the way she draws references. She has, she claims, never used a camera to capture an image and then adept it into a canvas. It has always been rough sketches from where she draws inspiration. In the case of the porthole series, she says she visited a few ships in docks for more authentic interpretation since it has been a long time she has travelled and ships’ designs have been changing.

She had early education in Shimla and graduated from the Punjab University. Her formal education in art was done at the Govt. College of Arts, Chandigarh. Living in Calcutta for a long period, she interacted with top artists from whom she derived encouragement and inspiration. Another, a silent but nonetheless important influence in her artistic career has been her husband. She says that his support meant a lot to her in deciding themes.
Currently based in Bombay, she has her eyes set on more interesting and challenging themes like the “Through the Porthole” one.

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