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/Punkah waalahs;miseries,Indiaervantspasts.wordpress.com |
Punkah-wallah, colonia Indiaservantspasts .wordpress.com |
Punkawallah, Alamy.com |
The operators of these punkahs, known as punkah-wallahs made the sahibs, women shahibas and others comfortable both day and night to be free from sultry conditions. The punkah-wallahs - men often drawn from lower castes or marginalized communities, including sweepers and palanquin-bearers were employed to manually operate the fans for hours, even using their feet while lying on mats in adjoining rooms. Employed mostly between March and October, punkah-wallahs eventually became permanent fixtures of colonial households. As the punkah spread across Southeast Asia and even the American South, their toil remained hidden behind walls or doors, the rope passing through holes to maintain caste segregation and privacy.
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Dowsing Punkahwallah, Colonial India servantspasts.wordpress.com. |
Life for these servants was harsh in the colonial era because of poor pay and lack of needed proper food and rest, with the ends of their hair tied to strings to prevent them from sleeping on the job. Any lapse, even momentary drowsiness, often resulted in severe punishment - sometimes even death. British officers also feared that punkah-wallahs might overhear confidential conversations among them. To avoid leaks, individuals with poor hearing were sometimes deliberately hired.
Resentment brewed among the workers who worked day and night for the English men's comfort andgood sleep at night. A notable strike by punkah-wallahs in 1898 highlighted their growing frustration and likely accelerated the shift toward mechanization. By the early 20th century, electric ceiling fans rendered the punkah obsolete. Yet remnants of these devices endure — in places like the Agra barracks, the Kanpur Memorial Church, and the Church of St. Francis in Kochi — silent witnesses to a grim chapter of colonial servitude, endurance, and forgotten resistance. The humble workers Stockley tolerated the over explotation by the colonists. Based on the post: https://www.navrangindia.in/2015/10/punkah-hand-operated-hanging-fan.html
https://www.deccanherald.com/features/art-and-culture/a-sordid-story-of-exploitation-3615679
https://servantspasts.wordpress.com/2020/08/10/the-punkah-and-its-pullers-a-short-histor