Roshandan
Encyclopedia
A roshandan is a feature of many dwelling structures in North India
and Pakistan
that is a combined skylight
and ventilating window. Roshandans are usually located high on a room's walls, and often on top of windows. They are essentially smaller windows that swivel open when needed. Smaller roshandans are sometimes called roshandanis. The high location of roshandans means that, for part of the summer (except for the months when the Loo winds
blow in the region), they can be kept open to allow heated air just below the ceiling to escape while retaining relatively cooler air inside. In wintertime, they are kept shut and used purely as skylights.
in the Indian subcontinent
, this is incorrect literally speaking.
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
that is a combined skylight
Skylight
Skylight may refer to:* Skylight * Skylight , by David Hare* Skylight of a lava tube, a hole in the ceiling of the tube* Skylight, Arkansas* Skylight, a short film by David Clayton Rogers* Skylight Pictures, a film company...
and ventilating window. Roshandans are usually located high on a room's walls, and often on top of windows. They are essentially smaller windows that swivel open when needed. Smaller roshandans are sometimes called roshandanis. The high location of roshandans means that, for part of the summer (except for the months when the Loo winds
Loo (wind)
The Loo is a strong, hot and dry summer afternoon wind from the west which blows over the western Indo-Gangetic Plain region of North India and Pakistan. It is especially strong in the months of May and June...
blow in the region), they can be kept open to allow heated air just below the ceiling to escape while retaining relatively cooler air inside. In wintertime, they are kept shut and used purely as skylights.
Etymology
The term roshandan literally means "that which has/admits light" in several North Indian and Pakistani languages. Though the word roshandan is often translated to ventilator in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, this is incorrect literally speaking.