Punkah

A punkah (Hindi pronunciation: pankha) is a type of fan used since the early 500 B.C.. In its original sense in South Asia, the punkah typically describes a handheld fan made from a single front of palmyra palm or a woven square of bamboo strips, rattan or other plant fibre, that can be rotated or fanned. These are called punkah in Hindi/Urdu or Hindustani. These handheld punkahs are still used by Millions when ceiling fans stop working during the common power cuts.