Navigating the Digital Diaspora: Hybrid Identities and Evolving Homelands in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Before We Visit the Goddess

The Criterion: An International Journal in English
ISSN: 0976-8165 | Impact Factor: 8.67 | Peer-Reviewed | Open Access
Indian Literature

Navigating the Digital Diaspora: Hybrid Identities and Evolving Homelands in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Before We Visit the Goddess

Vasumathi P, Dr. Premalatha S
Vol. 17, Issue 1February 2026Pages 16-26Article ID: 2026V17N1016

Abstract

This paper explores the complex construction of intersectional identity and the changing idea of “home” in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s multi-generational novel, Before We Visit the Goddess. Through theories of diaspora, hybridity, and digital humanities, it discusses how the characters in three generations—Lila, Bela, and Tara—negotiate their Indian and American selves. Whereas previous generations have to only deal with geographical and cultural displacements, the article contends that the third generation, especially Tara, dramatically reconfigures “home” through encounters with globalized media and online communities. The research illustrates how Divakaruni’s writing implicitly foregrounds the effect of a more networked world on diasporic subjectivity, providing a sophisticated comprehension of belonging in the modern digital era.

Keywords

Hybridity, Intersectionality, Home, Diasporic Identity, Digital Diaspora

How to Cite

Vasumathi P, Dr. Premalatha S. “Navigating the Digital Diaspora: Hybrid Identities and Evolving Homelands in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Before We Visit the Goddess.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 16-26. ISSN: 0976-8165.

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