A large fan made from palm leaves or cloth on a rectangular frame, suspended from the ceiling and worked by a rope. It was used for cooling in colonial India before electric fans.
From Hindi पंखा (paṅkhā) meaning 'fan', derived from Sanskrit पक्ष (pakṣa) meaning 'wing' or 'side'. The word entered English in the 18th century through British colonial life in India, where punkahs were essential for comfort in hot weather. The device was operated by servants called 'punkah wallahs'.
The punkah was literally a lifesaver in colonial India - British officials couldn't function without 'punkah wallahs' pulling the ropes all day! The rhythmic swaying of punkahs became so associated with colonial life that the sound appears in countless British memoirs of India as the background soundtrack to empire.
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