Pankha
Pankha ( Hindi : पङ्खा , pangkhā), also punkah , denotes a fan frond. Originally a pankha was a portable fan made from a Palmyra or Borassus palm leaf. In the course of time, this designation has established itself in Anglo-Indian word usage (hence the spelling Punkah ) as the name for a (ceiling) swinging fan. This was attached to the ceiling and was manually set vibrating by a cable pull by a servant ( coolie , also called “punkah wallah ”) sitting in the anteroom or hallway . The Arabs had known this type of air fanning since the 8th century. This version of the fan became popular in India during the colonial period towards the end of the 18th century.
From the end of the 19th century the fan (s) were driven by electric motors and were found in factories and barracks in the American southern states as well as (albeit more splendid) in the salons of mansions. The axial ceiling fans , which appeared in the 20th century and which are cheaper to produce and require less maintenance, have replaced most of the pankhas over time.
