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When a letter of invitation, followed
by a telegram from M. W. Grand Master, M. W. Bro, D.
P. Madon was received by me in September 1977, to meet
him in Bombay, little did I suspect that it was teh
beginning of a long journey of six years of Regional
Grand Mastership of Southern India that I was asked
to undertake. Four stalwart Masons had held this office
before me, with great distinction-R. W. Bro. Rao Bahadur
S. T. Srinivasa Gopalachari, R. W. Bro. Chief Justice
K. Veeraswamy, R. W. Bro. C. A. Ramakrishnan, I.C.S.,
and R. W. Bro. Justice T. Ramaprasada Rao. It was with
great trepidation I took up the office. Residing in
a place, nearly 480 kilometers away from Masonic Head
quarters of the Region-Madras-was another challenge
in the matter of administration.
I was installed as the Regional Grand
Master on the 7th January 1978 by M. W. The Grand Master.
The Meeting was held at the top floor of Connemara Hotel,
Madras. I consider it was indeed a rare privilege that
it was attended to by three Past Grand Masters from
overseas, in addition to the Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of India-M. W. Bro. Prof. Frank Gamblen, P. G.
Maser of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia, M. W.
Bro. Theodre Ling wasy, P. G. Master of the Grand Lodge
of India - M. W. Bro. Prof. Frank Gamblen, P. G. Master
of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia, M. W. Bro.
Theodre Ling way, P. G. Master of the Grand Lodge of
China (Taiwan) and M. W. Harles Wageman, P. G. Master
of the Grand Lodge of Belgium.
In my address to the brethren of the
region at the Installation Meeting, I announced that
I would visit each and every Lodge, Chapter, Mark and
R.A.M. Lodge during my term of office. When I made the
announcement, little did I dream that in achieving this,
my Masonic journey would exceed one lakh and thirty
thousand kilometers. My journey involved visits to 203
Craft, Chapter, Mark and R.A.M. Meetings including 85
Craft Installations. Through I do not want to pride
myself on this matter, I genuinely feel it game me immense
pleasure to meet and masonicaly get acquainted with
almost the entire Masonic fraternity of Southern India.
I greatly relished those visits and still feel elated
to have made innumerable Masonic friends who would otherwise
have remained strangers.
Each State, each territory of the Region,
has its own peculiar charm and beauty. The long coastal
line of bay of Bengal-Kanyakumari to Visakhapatnam -
and the Arabian Sea, from the Cape of Goa, the luxuriant
and enchanting Western Ghats, the beautiful hill stations
like Coorg, Kodaikanal and Yercaud, metropolitian cities
of Madras, Hyedrabad, Bangalore, the harbour cities
of Coachin, Calicut, Goa and Visakhapatnam, the historical
and ancient cities of Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavoor,
Palghat, Bellary, Belgaum, Vizianagaram, Ernakulam etc.
and Industrial cities of Bangalore, Coimbatore are just
some of the towns and cities situated within the Southern
Region - each of them having its history drenched in
the hoary past and with active Lodges. It was a very
rich experience for me to have visited the various Lodges
in the Region which reflect the Kaleidoscopical beauty
of the country, the rich heritage of languages and of
different cultures. It is indeed a matter of delight
to me to have closely associated myself with the members
of the Lodges and to have experienced the mysterious
and invisible band of Masonic fraternity that has brought
all the Free masons in the vast territory of the Southern
Region as one family.
When I took up my office as Regional
Grand Master, it was represented to me that a few Lodges
in the north-western limit of the Region in Karnataka,
being off the beaten track, felt neglected by the Region.
I had the pleasure of visiting these Lodges - Lodge
Victoria No. 9, Lodge Dharwar No. 54 and Lodge hubli
No.44 - on many occasions. These made me discover the
great potentiality of the members of these Lodges, their
genuine approach to Freemasonry and their abiding devotion
to Freemasonry.
On August 19, 1979, while I was travelling
by train to Belgaum with my wife, the train halted at
Hubli very early in the morning. I heard the door of
the compartment being banged. Thinking that it must
be some unauthorized persons wanting to get into the
compartment. I opened the shutter of the door slovenly
to abuse the intruders. But what a surprise it was!
There was a large contingent of members
of Lodge Hubli and their Wives, with two beautiful flower
garlands. We ushered them in, with utter surprise. They
garlanded us. While I was racking my brain what had
instigated them to accord such a tumutuous welcome,
it was revealed to us that it was our wedding anniversary.
The ladies and brought delicious food enough to feed
an army. My wife and I can never forget the warmth of
affection they showered on us.
A pleasant revelation that I always
treasure in my mind is the wonderful manner in which
Lodge Victoria which was dormant for more than a decade,
won the prize for Ritual Contest year after year with
such precision in rendition of the ritual. Membership
of Lodge Hubli has grown to such an extent that they
have not only rebuilt their old Temple, but had also
established another Lodge, Lodge Lyons Centenary NO.274.
Lodge Darwar too has grown up considerably in all facets.
An event of great important to the
Union territory of Goa within the territory of the Southern
Region by the formation of the first ever Masonic Lodge-Lodge
Gomantak No.248 - in that area on the 20th November
1982 by the untiring perseverance of members of Lodge
Victoria in general and of R. W. Bro. No. T. Kapadia
in Particular.
Seven months after I assumed office
as Regional Grand Master, my trip abroad took me to
London in July 1978. Lodge Pandyan had entrusted me
with the job of presenting 40 years Long Term Service
jewels, to three brethren - W. Bro. A. P.eacock, W.
Bro. A. Watt and Bro. R. Chillon-who had retired from
serice in India and had settled down in England and
Scotaland. As the Lodge in England were on summer holidays,
arrangement for the presentation of the Jewels was made
at a meeting of Fortesque Lodge of Instruction No.8386
E.C. in London in which W. Bro. A. Peacock was the Secretary.
I was given the privilege of presiding over this meeting.
It was attended by a large number of Grand Lodge and
Provincial Grand Lodge Officers in addition to a large
number of Masons in London. The meeting was followed
by a dinner to which wives and daughters of the members
were also invited. In replying to the toast, I was asked
to speak on "Freemasonry in Madurai", and
about the beginning and growth of the Grand Lodge of
India. The three recipients of the Long Term Service
Jewels, W. Bro. Joseph Turner who still continues to
be a member of Lodge Pandyan and few others who were
for a time members in Lodge Pandyan, presented the Lodge
in Madurai with a beautiful set of Tracing Boards of
the three degrees and also some valuable Masonic Books
for the Library of Lodge Pandyan. I was more than thrilled
by the way the brethren of that Lodge welcomed me and
my wife and the manner the recipients of the Jewels
with tears in their eyes, were moved to receive the
Jewels in a far off country.
The Grand Festival meeting of the Grand
Lodge of India held on the 26th December 1980 at Madras
will always be remembered by me on two accounts. First
is the proposal that was brought up to have four separate
Grand Lodges in India and which the Grand Lodge unequivocally
negatived. The other is the conferment on me of the
highly prestigious Order of Service to Masonry at that
meeting . This presentation at the meeting of the Grand
Lodge took me by complete surprise. While I am proud
to be the recipient of the jewel. I personally feel
that it was unceasingly demands of me to continue to
serve Freemasonry till my last breath.
The Southern Region is indeed proud
of its three Lodges situated in the three hill stations
- Coorg, Kodaikanal and Yercaud. Of these, the last
two were consecrated during my tenure of office as Regional
Grand Master. At the Laying of the Foundation Stone
of Lodge Kodaikanal, there was an element of mirth.
While scattering corn and pouring wine went smoothly,
the pouring of oil posed a problem. The oil in the particular
receptacle would not flow. The organisers had used conconut
oil, and due to the very cold weather then prevailing,
the oil had frozen hard as a rock. The ingenuity of
the D of C saved the situation. A cigarette lighter
came to the immediate rescue to melt the oil and most
of the audience where not even aware of the incident.
One important facet of the Regional
Grand Lodge, which always enthuised and encouraged me
was the splendid manner the meetings of the Regional
Grand Lodge, were held in the city of Madras and other
cities and towns in the Region, each centre, in its
own away exhibiting its genuine enthusiasm and devotion
to Freemasonry and extending its unbounded hospitality.
While these meetings were held in its towns and cities
in which the hosting Lodges were situated, Kodaikanal
was the only exception that hill station, where there
was then no Lodge. It was 75 miles away from Madurai
and at an elevation of nearly 7000 ft. R. W. Bro. V.
Rajendran as the head of the Committee incharge of the
meeting had done a marvelous job in meeting the challenge
and evoking the admiration of all who attended to meeting.
Similarly too were the R.G.L. Meetings
at Bangalore master-minded by R. W. Bro. K. S. Menon
and at Belgaum completely under the direction of R.
W. Bro. N. T. Kapadia.
The celebration of the 20th anniversary
of the Grand Lodge of India, by Lodges in the Twin cities
of Hyderabad and Secunderabad was yet another memorable
event which will ever remain green in my memory. M.
W. The Grand Master and I had the pleasure of participating
in this celebration as well as in the Ladies Night immediately
thereafter. On behalf of the Masonic Ladies of Southern
Region, my wife was given the privelege of extending
a special welcome to Mrs. Kurshed Madon. It was a Ladies
Night with the Largest attendance of Ladies that I ever
attended. The brethren of the Twin cities without exception
had joined hands to make the two events memorable.
The Meeting of the Regional Grand Lodge
too held in the Twin cities was yet another great occasion
when the brethren of the cities had exhibited their
best in making it memorable. R. W. Bro. E.P.B. Manian,
who is no more with us, had also played an important
role in all these Masonic events.
Words fail me to express how greatly
I appreciate the encouragement and advise I received
from the then M. W. The Grand Master, M. W. Bro. D.
P. Madon, O.S.M., whenever I sought his mature and wise
counselling. I owe him a deep debt of gratitude.
The wonderful manner the Regional Grand
Lodge Secretariat under the leadership of the Regional
Grand Secretary, R. W. Bro. T. K. Doraiswamy with a
band of devoted staff had given their unstinted co-operation
and support in helping me to carry out my programme
and plans in the administration of the Region can never
be forgotten. I wish to mention of a couple of marvellous
jobs carried out by the Secretariat. One of them is
the update maintenance of the Green Register giving
all possible Masonic details of all RGL Officers; and
the other was the introduction of monthly publication
of the Regional Grand Lodge Newsletter. No amount of
thanks will suffice to express my great appreciation
of the wonderful co-operation and systematic work of
the Secretariat, particularly of the Regional Grand
Secretary.
Another very important aspect is the
closest and personal co-operation I had from each and
every office of the Regional Grand Lodge and of all
the Lodges, Chapters and Mark and R.A.M. Lodges in the
Region year after year.
Six years was indeed a long period-but
I really enjoyed every minute of my Regional Grand Mastership.
It was a great and memorable milestone, not only in
my Masonic Career but in my life also.
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