Punkah

The word pankha originated from pankh, the wings of a bird which produce a current of air when flapped.

These small handheld devices are still used by millions when ceiling fans stop working during frequent power outages.

In the colonial age, the word came to be used in British India and elsewhere in the tropical and subtropical world for a large swinging fan, fixed to the ceiling, pulled by a punkah wallah during hot weather.

[1] To cover a larger area, such as the inside of an office or a courthouse, a number of punkahs could be connected together by strings so that they would swing in unison.

[1] The term punkah louvre refers to the directional outlet for cool air in aircraft, particularly those over the passenger seats.