When punkhawallah stole the limelight

This generation may not have seen a punkha, since electric fans, and more luxurious items like air conditioners are widely available.

This generation may not have seen a punkha, since electric fans, and more luxurious items like air conditioners are widely available.

A punkha, to the uninitiated, is a horizontal thick cloth suspended from two ends of the ceiling. It will oscillate to the left and right,  if the cord attached to it, passing through a network of pinions is pulled by a person sitting outside the premises.

In the old days,  before we had electricity, sarkari offices, where the bigwigs sat, required the services of a punkha to keep their heads cool, while discharging their duties dispassionately.

The punkha operating chore was assigned to a person who had sinewy arms, but preferably had trouble hearing, having damaged cochlea, so he will not be privy to the privileged conversations. He usually sat on a stool outside the chamber, pulling the cord. He would often go into sleep, his senses on the blink, but hand working nevertheless.

It is no wonder the decrepit Magistrate court in Poonamallee near Chennai, had one. 
One day, the case of Rangiah, —a son of Thimmiah who was aged 66—who was booked for attacking his neighbour with a sharp sickle on a suspicion of adultery, came up for hearing. 
The magistrate, a tall gentleman with a bald head, walrus moustache and side whiskers, after the hearing, pronounced the accused ‘not guilty’ as the prosecution failed to prove the guilt beyond doubt.

But fate, lurking in the corner, had the last laugh. While the punkha puller’s hearing faculty was intact, that of Rangiah, the accused, alas, left more to be desired. The man misunderstood the judgment. 
Thinking that the magistrate had found him guilty, despite his lawyer’s brilliant defence, he got out of the witness stand and seething with fury, grabbed a brass vessel. In one mighty sweep, he hurled the heavy brass vessel brimming with water in the direction of the magistrate.

The vessel in its elliptical path met the moving hands of punkha, missed the judge’s head  and  landed on the bench clerk Velumani’s head, damaging his spectacles and the documents on his table.

J S Raghavan

Email: jsraghavan@yahoo.com

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