Report by Ashok Palit; Bhubaneswar: Seven forms of art will fuse to form what is expected to be a mesmerizing production – 'Vajra' choreographed by Madhu Nataraj and staged at Ravindra Mandap on June, 12 on the eve of Samakala Dance festival organized by  Odisha Tourism.

"Dance does not exist in isolation and it's through collaboration one can do justice to any form of dance" believes Madhu Nataraj, dancer par excellence and founder, director of Stem Dance Kampini. Vajra a Sanskrit word which translates into 'Vajra-the diamond', 'Vajra'- lightning' and 'Vajra-a weapon'. These interpretations connect to the qualities of indestructibility, Shakti, brilliance, immortality, unbridled power, enlightenment and tangible forms of the permanence of divinity. The human spirit as a potent vessel for receiving & emanating brilliance, as an indestructible force and as a weapon that wields wisdom is the undercurrent of this work. "Vajra which symbolizes indestructibility also reiterates the belief in the human spirit and how it is not perishable."

The dance is divided into three parts the first part of the performance will see a fusion of Kathak and Yoga which is essentially Indian in its theme, the second titled 'Raiko' which translates to 'Vajra' in Japanese is a Ninjutsu piece; this is followed by the third titled 'Dance of Light' that explores brilliance, illumination and refraction and other qualities of light.: After Vajra  , a mesmerizing dance performance by  Mamata Shanker ballet Amritasya Putra.The ballet illustrates the divine with five elements —fire, space, wind, earth and water and reinstates the belief that the soul moves in various forms before entering the human body," elaborates Chandrodoy Ghosh, Shankar's husband and the lead voice for the ballet.

The theme had been of humanity, about life… about atma- or the soul, about how a kid grows up clinging to its mothers' emotions,grows up without complexity with its mother's smile, playing hide-n-seek with emotions..Only for the mother to discover that her child has grown up. While the child grows up, it makes friends without a second thought, loving them from the core of the heart… slowly they understand the difference between genders… slowly but gradually matures into a man or a lady. But with age.. Experience comes. The true heart and love starts getting replaced by wishes, expectations and arrogance. It forms the root of destruction – war and death, of people one loves. Humanity hung its head in shame. Slowly, what they discovered is the beam of light. The Light of truth, the truth that we all are the part of one soul and that we should try to be as close to the soul as possible.