Today—the seventh day of the dark half of the lunar month of Bhādrapada—is Śītalā-Saptamī, a holiday dedicated to the goddess Śītalā, and celebrated primarily by Hindus with connections to North India, like myself (though, I’ll admit, I can’t say I remember ever celebrating it in my family). According to Athavale in his book Saṃskṛti-Pūjana (1999, 5th ed., Gujarati)—or Dadaji, as he’s respectfully addressed by the followers of his Swadhyaya movement, like much of my family—the holiday is primary celebrated by women. On the day before the holiday (itself a holiday known as Rāndhana-Chaturthī, lit. ‘the sixth of cooking’), after cooking food enough for two days, women worship their cooking appliances…