A punkah is a traditional Indian pulley-operated fan, usually made of fabric, bamboo, or palm leaves suspended vertically from the ceiling. An operator (or punkah-wallah) has to flap the punkah back and forth by pulling on a rope, so during the colonial era, punkahs were generally a luxury for the rich and the English.
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Punkah Term Timeline in Indian Ink
The timeline below shows where the term Punkah appears in Indian Ink. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...the electric kitchen appliances, and that she needs to hire a boy to operate her punkah. She calls the house a “duck bungalow,” but Swan clarifies to Pike that it’s really...
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...dhobi (washerwoman) and warns Flora not to drink the water Nazrul gives her. Meanwhile, the punkah starts circulating cool air around the bungalow—Das explains that he found a boy to operate...
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...Krishna and Radha were punished for their affair. She also tells him to give the punkah boy (Subadar Ram Sunil Singh) a rupee; he gives the boy an anna instead (1/16...
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Act 2
...Singh. Now, he works in the cloakroom, but as a young boy, he operated Flora’s punkah. Dilip and Pike go inside for dinner.
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