Gaya’s Pankha Gali Keeps Centuries-Old Hand Fan Craft Alive Against Challenges Of Modern-Day Cooling Options
Centuries-old craftsmanship, seasonal demand and festival traditions continue to sustain Gaya’s iconic Pankha Gali, despite shrinking markets and mounting modern competition.
Published : April 25, 2026 at 12:28 PM IST
Gaya: Air conditioners may have conquered places, both urban and rural, but there are some parts of the country which manage the rising temperatures with hand fans, made of palm leaves. Heard of Pankha Gali? It is that part of Bihar’s Gaya, that has kept the oldest form of cooling alive, with its people crafting the fan by hand even today and passing on the traditional craft to generations.
Located in Shivcharan Lane in Manpur, Pankha Gali in itself seems like a living workshop where families, all members included, have spent centuries turning palm leaves into elegant hand fans. The lane officially earned its name in 2010, though its association with hand fans stretches back much further. At one time, artisans here produced nearly 1.5 million fans annually. Today, that number has dropped sharply to around 5,00,000.
The reason is but obvious. Air conditioners, coolers and electric fans have penetrated into homes in such a way that the hand fan, once-a-household necessity, was relegated to a seasonal and ceremonial item.
Demand has reduced, people involved in craft have come down, yet, not much has changed in Pankha Gali, per se.
“Earlier, truckloads of hand fans would be supplied from here during the peak season. This year, the wholesale price has increased by one rupee, taking it to Rs 12. Demand will continue rising till Vat Savitri Puja,” says Ajay Kumar of Patwa Toli.
The festival remains the lifeline of this traditional trade. During Vat Savitri Puja, married women use hand fans as part of ritual observances, triggering a surge in demand. For the artisans of Pankha Gali, these few weeks of sales add to the over all success of the business of an entire year.
Modernity has altered the economics of the craft. A hand fan sells wholesale for Rs 10 to Rs 12, while production costs would be somewhere around Rs 6 per piece. An artisan can earn Rs 700 to Rs 800 a day during the peak season, but the profit is inconsistent.
Most craftsmen now work on hand fans for only two to three months each year. During the off-season, many people join work at powerlooms or work as daily wage labour, to support their families.
“Our forefathers made hand fans, and we have inherited this skill from them. Every part of the fan is made by hand,” Ajay says, adding that they source palm leaves from Fatehpur and the Barabar hills.
The process, as he explains, is painstaking. Palm leaves are collected, dried, trimmed, shaped and assembled into sturdy, lightweight fans. Some are decorated with vibrant colours and intricate designs, fetching slightly better prices in the market.
Despite the challenges, Gaya’s hand fans have demand far beyond Bihar. They are supplied to Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha where demand remains steady, especially during summer and festive seasons.
“Since years fans made here are supplied to other states. Though earnings have declined, this business still helps us run our households somehow,” says trader Deepak Kumar.
For many artisans, they can make upto 20,000 to 25,000 fans every season. But rising raw material costs and declining demand have squeezed profit margins. Even a slight increase in price hampers profit.
For those living in urban homes, hand fans may have become decorative relics, but there are some villages, where families in lower-income group depend on hand fans, particularly during power cuts.
Apart from cultural significance the craft holds, Pankha Gali remains a repository of memory, skill and resilience. Its artisans have adapted, diversified and endured, refusing to let their ancestral craft fade into oblivion.
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