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| .past-india.com |
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| A Punkha,Takhat Vilas, Mehrangarh Fort Palace, Jodhpur. en.wikimedia.org |
A punkah Colonial India. columbia.edu/
Above image: Punkahs were pulled from outside, with a rope that ran through a small hole in the wall. A lithograph by William Taylor of the Bengal Civil Service (London, 1842).........
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| Hand operated fan/pukah 1898: Photographic print Date: |
Above image: General Manager's room 'Times of India' office. hand operated fan/punkah- November 1898.Photographer: E.O.S. and Company Medium.................
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| 1863 woman under a punkah in Berhampore(WB)home,India |
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| Punkah,Kanpur Memorial Church,UP (albumen photo, c.1880's).columbia.edu |
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Before the arrival of electricity, in villages and small towns, people used to sleep on the raised platform (locally called Thinnai) in front of the house or in open spaces under the trees to have refreshing air. Women folks would sleep inside the house.
When the Europeans landed in India, on tropical hot days it was a major problem for them due to excess sweating and high sweltering condition. The Europeans finally took refuge under what is called Punkah. It is simple hand operated device hung from the ceiling consisting of a so an elongated ceiling fan covered with cloth and string operated by a pully in the adjacent room. Indian subcontinent before the advent of electric fan rich people were relied on it.
Air is generated by hand pulling punkah often using a pulley. Widely used in the colonial time, there were many punkah makers in numerous towns as well as Punkahwallah - those who pull them for daily wages.
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| Vietnamese court with a punkah,1885 credit: Alinari Archives |
A punkah, native to India is a weird elongate fan, with a long wooden frame covered with cloth, some ten, twenty, thirty, or more feet long, suspended from the ceiling of a room. Gentle air is generated below it when it is moved to and fro rhythmically by means of a rope and pulleys by a man. He sits outside the room and the rope connecting the punkah is passed through a hole on the wall. This way the family members or officers inside the buildings had privacy without any interruption from punkah operators. At home, punkah was fixed on the ceiling in bed rooms and dinning hall frequently used by occupants.
It was a luxury to have punkahs fixed in the home in those days and only the rich and elites could afford them. There were different varieties of punkah with elaborate designs on the cloth, some being painted and the ropes covered with silk.
It was a luxury to have punkahs fixed in the home in those days and only the rich and elites could afford them. There were different varieties of punkah with elaborate designs on the cloth, some being painted and the ropes covered with silk.
Expensive materials or fabrics were also used, depending on the taste and budget. The motion of the punkah produces enough air without touching the chandeliers, suspended in the same line with the punkah. In the colonial period the punkah was pulled over the charpai or bed. “during the hot days and nights by Punkahawala for the comforts of white settlers and rich Indians. On sultry nights, when the punkah was on, the Memsahib and Memsahiba could sleep or read comfortably under the artificial and gentle breeze, while the punkahwallah was half dozing, with his hands pulling the country fan automatically. Punkahwallh used to work 24 days a month and received a paltry sum for his services.
During the winter season, they had to do other duties in the residence. In large halls such as spacious office, or a courthouse, a number of punkahs could be connected and operated together in unison by sturdy ropes so that they would swing uniformly. The principle behind punkah is as simple as making an apple pie. Just like the way birds produce the draft by flopping their wings in the sky while flying, punkah produces a draft of air by continuous to and fro motion of the elongate hanging fabric. Since 500 BC men have known the use of punkah.
In the 8th century itself, the Arabs used them to beat hot days. It is believed that in India punkah was used on a large scale from the early18th and later 19th century Europeans in India made it popularin the absence of electricity.
Punkah (a Hindustani word; in Tamil it is called Visiri) is referred to as a hand held fan made from a single frond of Palmyra palm or a woven square of bamboo strips, rattan or other plant fiber, that can be rotated or fanned. This hand-held fan has been in India for centuries - often known as poor man's fan. Across India even today, millions of people use this simple fan to keep themselves cool in the hot season during outages or power shutdowns Now they are available in PVC and come in different style and color.
In those days 60 or 70 years ago, most of the residential buildings had a tall ceiling with a small Mandapam (hall) roughly 6 feet tall and 7 or 8 feet wide (size varies), a sort of raised covered structure with windows on all sides built above the ceiling. This specific Mandapam (hall) called Kalyana Koodam was for better ventilation and air circulation inside the building. Numerous government buildings had high ceiling with similar structure to reduce uncomfortable radiation coming from the ceiling. Besides, there were ceiling fans to cool off people sweating below them.
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| hand-held Punkah, Indiathethrifthunter.wordpress.com |
In the 8th century itself, the Arabs used them to beat hot days. It is believed that in India punkah was used on a large scale from the early18th and later 19th century Europeans in India made it popularin the absence of electricity.
Punkah (a Hindustani word; in Tamil it is called Visiri) is referred to as a hand held fan made from a single frond of Palmyra palm or a woven square of bamboo strips, rattan or other plant fiber, that can be rotated or fanned. This hand-held fan has been in India for centuries - often known as poor man's fan. Across India even today, millions of people use this simple fan to keep themselves cool in the hot season during outages or power shutdowns Now they are available in PVC and come in different style and color.
In those days 60 or 70 years ago, most of the residential buildings had a tall ceiling with a small Mandapam (hall) roughly 6 feet tall and 7 or 8 feet wide (size varies), a sort of raised covered structure with windows on all sides built above the ceiling. This specific Mandapam (hall) called Kalyana Koodam was for better ventilation and air circulation inside the building. Numerous government buildings had high ceiling with similar structure to reduce uncomfortable radiation coming from the ceiling. Besides, there were ceiling fans to cool off people sweating below them.
