TRIKAYA

G5A Artist ‘In Residence’ Program

Originally premiered at G5A as part of the ‘In Residence’ program, supported by BNP Paribas, in June 2026.
Synopsis

Trikāyā (Three Bodies) is an exploration of the gendered body in Odissi. Typically performed with defined vocabularies—drawn from the Mahari and Gotipua temple performance traditions, as well as from curvilineal temple sculpture—Odissi in the 20th and 21st centuries has upheld binary performances of gender. In an effort to challenge this codification, Bijayini Satpathy turns to the Mahabharata. In three vignettes, three different characters live out the distinct gender roles assigned to them, negotiating notions of virtue and shame, and also the fulfilment of their own desires. 
Episode 1 

The warrior Arjuna prepares for battle. As he tests his weapons, he falters, confronted by the destruction he is about to wreak. Eventually, he resolves to fight and drives his body toward the battlefield. 

Episode 2

The celestial nymph Urvashi is sent by the gods to seduce Arjuna. When he rejects her advances, likening her to his mother, Urvashi flies into a rage and curses him—he must live among women as a dancer, in a body that is of neither man nor woman. 

Episode 3

Arjuna is now Brhannala, a transgender person who teaches dance to the women of King Virata's court. Awaiting an imminent return to battle, and to the form of Arjuna, Brhannala decides to have one last dance. 

Credit list: 

Choreographer and Performer - Bijayini Satpathy

Music composition and Vocals - Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy

Mardala - Sibasankar Satapathy

Flute - Srinibas Satapathy

Lighting Design - Deepa Dharmadhikari

Dramaturgy - Poorna Swami

Managed by Shreya Nagarajan Singh Arts Development Consultancy in India
Managed and Produced by Claudia Norman in the US
Special Thanks - Masoom Parmar and Dr. Rebecca J. Manring

This presentation sincerely acknowledges and marks my gratitude to the Mahari temple dancers and young Gotipua dancers of Odisha, whose contributions have made Odissi as loved and rich as it is today.

Photo credit: Stephanie Berger
©bijayinisatpathy | All rights reserved