Bonding over theatre at the French Embassy

The city's swish set, including artists, historians, photographers and ambassadors, among others, gathered at the French Embassy on Tuesday evening to raise a toast to theatre personality Sanjna Kapoor, who received French honour of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) for "her outstanding contribution to theatre". The insignia was conferred by the French Minister of Culture Franck Riester, who was in India on an official visit.Catching up: (L-R) Beatrice, Pinky Anand, with Brazilian Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago'Theatre is a family affair for Sanjna': Highlighting Sanjna's passion for theatre, Franck said, "Whether on stage, in front of the camera, or at the helm of the organisation she runs, she shows the same infectious enthusiasm for championing the place of art in our societies." He added, "For Sanjna, theatre is a family affair. Her parents, Jennifer Kandal and Shashi Kapoor, met in Calcutta, where the tours of their respective parents' theatre companies had taken them. Her maternal grandparents, Geoffrey and Laura Kendal, were touring with their company Shakespeareana from Great Britain, crisscrossing India and falling in love with it. Her paternal grandfather, the great actor Prithviraj Kapoor, had decided to travel across India with Prithvi Theatre, which he had established. It was at the intersection of these two theatrical universes that her family was founded, so naturally, theatre has accompanied her since her very first steps."French Ambassador Emannuel Lenain'Art is for everybody, and not just the elite': Thanking the audience, an elated Sanjna, said, "This is another possibility and opportunity to embark and learn from each other. There is a lot that we can learn from France about how it manages its cultures and its policies. I hope this ignites more policymakers and thinkers in our country to think about what role they can play in promoting arts and culture in the country." She added, "France has done some amazing things, especially in the field of circus, something that I am passionate about. It believes that a circus is an art form that belongs to everybody. I believe strongly, too, that art is for everybody, and not just for the elite or some section of the society. You ask Indian children if they have seen circus and they have probably seen it on television. It is a dying art form in India, and we need to revive that. France went out and put systems in place to enable that. I hope we can learn something from them."Probir GuptaGuests list: Accompanying Sanjna were husband and conservationist Valmik Thapar, son Hamir Thapar and brother Kunal Kapoor. Catching up with old friends over some French champagne and soufflé were Raghu Rai, Romila Thapar, Jatin Das, Alka Pande, Aruna Vasudev, Rahul Mishra and several others. Chinese whispers?Chinese whispers?A group of nine Frenchwomen and men (a part of French collective Les Souffleurs Commandos Poetiques or The Whisperers, Poetic Commandos), dressed in all-black arrived at the venue holding vintage umbrellas and a black hollow tube, which they called a "nightingale" to whisper poetry into the ears of the attendees. "The whole idea is to slow the world, and whispering poetry to people is just one of our gestures to promote that idea," said Olivier Comte, the founder of the group. Jatin DasRajeev SethiRaghu Rai Romila ThaparValmik ThaparKunal Kapoor German Ambassador Walter J LindnerTara Gandhi BhattacharjeeVN DalmiaYashodhara DalmiaRahul Mishra