Yet behind each hand-woven fan lies a deeper struggle-access to capital. The leaves, though freely found in nature, must still be bought, dried, dyed and transformed, all of which cost money.

The conventional palm leaf fans which have become a rarity seem to be making a comeback in the city with the rise in mercury levels. The trend is seen at shops that sell conventional palm and ...

Before electricity came to this region, and even afterwards when loadshedding was a daily scenario, traditional palm leaf hand-held fans, locally known as "haat-pakha", were a common item in every ...