Utility over, ‘pankhis’ fan memories of time gone by
Spice of Life: The onslaught of inverters in every household has played a pivotal role in relegating ‘pankhis’ into oblivion
As soon as the car began its slow ascent, my eyes fell upon a small shop under the flyover. A man sat outside the shop on a wooden bench, fanning himself with a colourful bamboo-leaf hand-fan, popularly known as ‘pankhi’. He was trying to ward off the heat on a humid August morning.
Nostalgia hit me like a cannon ball as I recalled the varieties and designs of hand fans I had come across in my lifetime. The first variety that came to mind was the foldable bamboo leaf version, spread out in a full circle with polished bamboo handles that was a permanent feature in my mother’s handbag. I remember it was purchased from a small shop in the then highly recommended and a must-visit Lakkad Bazaar of Shimla. Later, she replaced it with one of those Japanese folding hand fans called Ogi, made of bamboo or wooden strips threaded together and held at the end with a rivet. These fans when spread out, boasted of a beautiful picture of a dainty Japanese girl in the traditional kimono.
In Punjab, ‘pankhis’ formed a part and parcel of the cultural heritage. Colourful woollen or phulkari pankhis embellished with ghungroos and frills mounted on a metallic frame with wood carved and polished handles can be seen adorning the walls of a traditional ‘baithak’ in Punjabi households. Many families take pride in the handmade or hand woven ‘pankhis’ by the matriarchs of the family and cherish them as an heirloom. The ‘pankhis’ involve intricate patterns and display unique and delicate techniques adopted to highlight the exquisite workmanship of the village belle. So much so that these beautifully decorated ‘pankhis’ at one point of time used to be an indispensable part of a girl’s wedding trousseau.
Over the years, the handmade woollen or embroidered ‘pankhis’ were replaced with the bamboo ‘pankhis’ made with interspersed bamboo leaves. Also, there was ‘foreign invasion’ of the Chinese and Japanese fans that carried the added advantage of being cheap and foldable. The Chinese fans were the stiff circular ones made by sticking paper on the leaf which was later painted in myriad colours. History tells us that in Japan, the warriors also known as Samurais used the foldable hand fan as a weapon and there are to this day schools in Japanese martial arts that give training in using these fans as a weapon against the enemy.
Advancement in technology shunted out the handmade ‘pankhis’ with plastic ones that are readily available in countless colours and shapes. The onslaught of inverters in every household today has also played a pivotal role in relegating the ‘pankhis’ into oblivion. It has pushed the modest ‘pankhis’ either into the remotest corners of those trunks that are rarely opened or into a phase of being a vestigial entity that is no longer cared about.
However, an impression still haunts many of us who have been witness to long hours of power cuts during sizzling afternoons and sweltering nights when the unpretentious ‘pankhis’ were not only an instrument of solace but also a means of community bonding; when men, women and children would come out of their houses to sit outside in circles, on stools or moorrhas with ‘pankhis’ in hand with many a tales to narrate, tales of wit and wisdom. sonrok15@gmail.com
The writer is an Ambala-based college teacher