In 2013, when I first met the elderly Baba Nazir, he was introduced to me as the jharu kash of the Bodianwale shrine. Jharu kash literally translates as “the one who sweeps” and evokes a life of selfless devotion and service to a saint and their shrine. In fact, one of its most common representations in Punjab is the image of a woman sweeping the floor of her saint's shrine with her long, flowing tresses. However, in many shrines, including Bodianwale, jharu kash are assigned the far more “worldly” role of a caretaker, which involves looking after the shrine's premises and managing its everyday affairs. Nazir had been appointed to this particular position, a few years ago, by pir Syed Hassan Gillani (henceforth, pir Hassan), the gaddi nashin of Bodianwale and scion of a powerful Sufi family that had controlled Bodianwale and an associated shrine complex for many generations. Nazir had been associated with this family for almost fifty years and served them in a variety of capacities. His position in Bodianwale as pir Hassan's point person required him to live on the shrine's premises and shoulder several responsibilities. He was given authority over the other men who lived in the shrine and supervised their work of cleaning and maintaining the space. Ensuring the shrine's security, keeping an eye on things, and reporting the goings-on to pir Hassan were all part of his mandate. Importantly, he was also assigned the duty of collecting and delivering cash and other offerings made by devotees to the pir as well as encouraging devotees to contribute to the upkeep of the shrine.

Nazir generally adopted a laid-back approach to the caretaker role. While he kept a vigilant eye on things, he preferred to not get involved in most aspects of the shrine's operations. Instead, he ceded space to other individuals and groups to take the lead in organizing and managing events and daily activities at Bodianwale. Even though he possessed the powers and authority that come from being the pir's appointee, Nazir was hardly pushed to exercise and expand his influence. His identification as a malang, which calls for a distance from worldly affairs, was certainly a factor in his attitude toward this managerial role.