Punkah

A punkah (Hindi: पङ्खा, pangkhā) is a type of fan used since the early 500 B.C.. The word pankha originated from pankh, the wings of a bird which produce a draft when flapped.

In its original sense in South Asia, punkah typically describes a handheld fan made from a single frond 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 Hindustani. These small handheld devices are still used by millions when ceiling fans stop working during frequent power outages.