Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
Fan Operator
Hindi translation:
पंखाकुली, पंखावाला, छत पंखा कुली, बादकश कुली
English term
Fan Operator
In other words, I'm looking for the Hindi for the English word Punkawallah as featured on this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punkawallah
Is “Punkawallah” a genuine Hindi word? I'm a little suspicious of English urban myths about other languages.
All the best,
Simon
| 5 | पंखाकुली, पंखावाला, छत पंखा कुली, बादकश कुली |
C.M. Rawal
|
| 5 | manual fan operators |
Dr. Rajesh Kumar
|
| 5 | पंखावाला, पंखा घुमाने वाला |
Suyash Suprabh
|
| 5 | पंखावाला |
Lalit Sati
|
Jan 17, 2009 13:51: Lalit Sati changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
Jan 18, 2009 10:50: C.M. Rawal Created KOG entry
PRO (3): Dr. Rajesh Kumar, C.M. Rawal, Lalit Sati
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Proposed translations
India
Hindi Translator you can bank upon
Native in: Hindi
Works in: English to Hindi, Hindi to English
पंखाकुली, पंखावाला, छत पंखा कुली, बादकश कुली
पंखावाला, छत पंखा कुली, बादकश कुली all refer to पंखाकुली.
In olden days, when there were no electric fans in India, hand-held fans or roof-hung fans were used. The roof-hung fans were very heavy and some servant or coolie used to operate them.
These fans were of a rectangular shape and were generally made of thick cloth with a string or rope attached to them. When the string was pulled and released, the fan used to move.
The person who used to operate these fans was called पंखाकुली or पंखावाला, छत पंखा कुली, बादकश कुली
Examples:
अंदर हाल में विक्टोरियन फ़र्नीचर और छत पर लटकता हुआ हाथ से खींचने वाला पंखा। दोपहर में पंखा-कुली पंखा खींचते-खींचते ऊंघ जाता है तो मिस्टर पीटर जे.डेविड डिप्टी कलेक्टर अपने विलायती जूतों की ठोकरों से उसके काले बदन पर नीले रंग के फल उगा देते हैं।
wikisource.org/wiki/केक
आँखें झपते-झपते बंद हो गई, हाथ धीमा पड़ते- पड़ते रूक गया; और पंखाकुली सपना देखने लगा। ...
pustak.org/bs/home.php?bookid=2456
India
Quality & Commitment
Native in: Hindi (Variants: Khariboli, Indian) 
Works in: English to Hindi, Hindi to English
manual fan operators
India
Quality work delivered on time
Native in: Hindi 
Works in: English to Hindi, German to Hindi, Italian to Hindi
पंखावाला, पंखा घुमाने वाला
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Note added at 30 मिनट (2009-01-17 08:58:07 GMT)
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Ref: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2006081211223...
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Note added at 46 मिनट (2009-01-17 09:14:23 GMT)
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Punkawallah is a Hindi term and has a historical connotation. This term can be found in some history books dealing with British India.
India
M.Sc. | Full-time Freelance Translator
Native in: Hindi
Works in: English to Hindi, Hindi to English, Hindi
पंखावाला
This term was originated during the British rule in India as army slang word. You can notice that in Hindi it should be pronounced as PunkHawallah. But this is “Punkawallah (पंकावाला)”, because the British could not pronounce correctly so they changed the sound of the word. “Punkawallah” is a masculine word (पंखावाला, not पंखावाली)used for male servant.
British Army Slang Terms
Punkawallah - Manual Fan Operator (Indian word);
Dhobie wallah - clothes washer (Indian).
(http://homepage.mac.com/michaelrhys/blip/slang.html)
punka wallah (Indian servant to provide cooling air in days of British Raj).
(http://www.snowmediazone.com/the_zone/showphoto.php/photo/45...
Many British regiments had served in India prior to WW II, ... Then there was the punka wallah who would keep his master cool by wafting a fan over his ...
(http://books.google.com/books?id=pgqP2bHQ88gC&pg=PA68&lpg=PA...
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Note added at 5 hrs (2009-01-17 14:02:25 GMT)
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Punkha (not Punka) is a Hindi word meaning FAN. वाला (Vala) - a suffix denoting an agent, doer, owner or inhibitant.
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Note added at 20 hrs (2009-01-18 05:13:57 GMT)
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"I'm a little suspicious of English urban myths about other languages." - Your rational point of view must be appreciated.
IN HINDI for "manual fan operator"
पंखा झलने वाला/वाली
पंखा डुलाने वाला/वाली
पंखा करने वाला/वाली
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