Word Meaning
जाम-दारी
jām-dārī
Meaning
The duty of holding cups; office of serving or guarding the wine-cup.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'jām-dārī' refers to the custodianship or serving of the wine goblet in a tavern, an office usually associated with the cupbearer. In this couplet, it is used satirically against the ascetic preacher (the Shaikh), suggesting his hypocritical nature makes him best suited to tavern service. It operates within the ghazal tradition's celebration of the tavern over rigid orthodoxy.
Etymology
Persian: compound of 'jām' (goblet/cup) + 'dār' (keeper/holder) + abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
Used in the ghazal to mock religious orthodoxy by imaginatively assigning tavern chores to holy figures.
Examples
He traded his prayer-mat for the humble cup-bearing of the tavern.
Cup-bearing in the winehouse is preferable to false austerity.