Definition of "punkah" []

• A type of large fan, common on the Indian subcontinent, especially made from a leaf or from cloth, typically hung from the ceiling, designed to cool a room, often operated manually by a servant. (noun)

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• "Punkah, _pankah_, a kind of fan; punkah wala, _punkah wala_, a fan-seller"
• "The punkah is a large frame, from eight to ten feet long, and three feet high, covered with white Indian cloth, and fastened to the ceiling."
• "In British India they used to have natives called punkah wallahs, who would pull on ropes that swung a large ceiling fan."