Question

A song set to the rhythm of the spinning wheel: As you take the cotton, you do zikr-i jali As you separate the cotton, you should do zikr-i qalbi And as you spool the thread, you should do zikr-i aini Zikr should be uttered from the stomach through the chest, And threaded through the throat. The threads of breath should be counted one by one, oh sister. Up to twenty-four thousand. Do this day and night, And offer this to your pir as a gift.

In what ways are the ideas and modes of expression used in this song similar to or different from those used by Jahanara to describe her ziyarat (The pilgrimage of the Mughal princess Jahanara, 1643)?

Answer 1

1. Similarities
   • Devotion to the Master: Both texts centre around deep spiritual love and submission to a spiritual guide, referred to as the pir in the song and the revered saving master by Jahanara.
   • Making Offerings: Both acts of devotion culminate in an offering to the master. Jahanara offers high-quality itar and her rose headscarf, while the spinner offers her continuous prayers (zikr) as a spiritual gift.
   • Repetitive Rituals: Both rely on rhythmic, structured repetition. Jahanara performs two cycles of optional prayers at every station and circumambulates the tomb seven times. The song requires constant recitation of zikr up to twenty-four thousand times, day and night.
2. Differences
   • Social Context: Jahanara expresses the elite, grand devotion of a royal princess embarking on a highly publicised, expensive physical journey. The song represents the grassroots devotion of ordinary working-class women performing daily household chores.
   • External vs. Internal Practice: Jahanara’s devotion is highly physical and external (walking barefoot, kissing the ground, rubbing dust on her face). The Charkhanama focuses on an internalised bodily practice where prayers are synchronised with breathing and physical labour.
   • Setting: Jahanara’s ziyarat takes place at a grand, public imperial shrine (the Ajmer dargah). The song takes place entirely within the private, domestic sphere of the home at a spinning wheel (charkha).
   • Medium of Expression: Jahanara writes a formal, elite literary biography (Munis al-Arwah) in Persian. The Charkhanama is a vernacular folk song meant to be sung aloud with peers (“oh sister”).