Lodge Trivandrum No.168
The Regular Meeting of Lodge Trivandrum No.168 was held under a dispensation from R.W. the Regional Grand Master on the 18th of April 2006. The ceremony of raising of Bro. Manoj Chandini Balagopal was conducted by W.Bro.V.J.Thomas up to and including the Charge after Investiture. At the request of the W.Master, W.Bro. D.Santhi Kumar occupied the Eastern Chair and conducted the rest of ceremony. Bro.Anind Ben Roy made his debut in ritual working by explaining the Working Tools in an impressive manner. Bro. P.Vijay Kumar delivered the Final Charge, also in a very impressive manner.

R.W. Bro.K.R.Rajasekharan Nayar OSM, presented the Grand Lodge Certificates to Bro. M.R.Karmachandran and Bro.Anind Ben Roy.

W.Bro.V.R.Harikumar presented the Masonic Paper entitled "Freemasonry and Pragmatism".

Prior to the meeting charities of Rs. 500/- each were disbursed to two poor recipients Mr.Joseph Chacko and Mr. Appu.

The meeting was attended by 33 brethren.

Lodge Vivekananda No.254
Lodge Vivekananda No.254 had their 282 nd Regular Meeting on the 8 th of April 2006 at the Vivekananda Masonic Trust Temple at Kanyakumari.

Bro. Dr Justin Pon Thomson was passed to the Degree of a Fellow Craft. The ceremony of Passing was conducted in a very impressive manner by Immediate Past Master W Bro. Dr. Nazeer Hussain. He was ably assisted by Bro. Kamalahassan who presented the Working Tools, Bro. Dr. Ajit K Raghuvaran who delivered the Charge after Passing and Bro. Dr G Rajasekhar who explained the Tracing Board.

Bro. Dr Shivakumar presented the Masonic Information to the Brethren.

The Meeting was attended by 18 Brethren.

Lodge Vanchinad No.273
Installation Meeting :
The Installation Meeting of Lodge Vanchinad No.273 – Kollam – was held on Sunday the 2 nd April 2006 , at the Crowther Masonic Hall, Kollam. 22 Brethren were present. Assistant Regional Grand Master, W Bro. D Santhi Kumar, represented R W Bro. Gutha Krishnan Selvarajan, PDyGM, Right Worshipful the Regional Grand Master of the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India, at the Meeting.

Bro. R Jayaprasad was installed as the Worshipful Master of Lodge Vanchinad No.273, for the year 2006 – 2007 by the outgoing Worshipful Master W Bro. Dr Balachandra Kurup in a very solemn and impressive ceremony. W Bro. Roy Abraham and Bro. Joseph Rodricks were appointed and Installed as Senior and Junior Wardens respectively. W Bro. R Sreekumar was appointed as the Secretary of the Lodge. The charge to the Worshipful Master was delivered by the ARGM. The Charge to the Wardens & Brethren were delivered by W Bro. Dr. S R Rajagopalan and V W Bro. Abraham Markose respectively. There were 15 visitors from sister Lodges. Greetings were conveyed on behalf of Right Worshipful the Regional Grand Master and the Officers of the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India by the ARGM. Fraternal Greetings were also coveyed on behalf of Lodge Trivandrum, Lodge Anantahapadmanabha, Lodge Kottayam, Lodge Travancore, Lodge Montfort, and Lodge Quilon (5839 EC)

Earlier in the evening as a part of the Dhanya Dhan Project, the Lodge donated 75 Kgs of rice to a Destitute Home; “SS Samithi”, in the presence of ARGM, the representative of the Right Worshipful the Regional Grand Master.

The Meeting was followed by a very well laid out and enjoyable Festive Board, where the Obligatory Toasts and the Toasts to Incoming Master and Officers, Outgoing Master and Officers and the Visitors were proposed.

Correspondence with Lodge Vanchinad No.273, in future may be made with:

W Bro. R Sreekumar
Secretary,Lodge Vanchinad No.273
“Bala” Olayil, Kollam – 591 009
Phone: 0474 – 2746050

Lodge Ananthapdmanabha No. 280
The Regular Meeting of the Lodge was held on the 7 th of April 2006 , at the Freemasons Hall, Trivandrum . Mr. Kuriakose M Jacob was initiated into the mysteries and privileges of Freemasonry, in an impressive ceremony by the Worshipful Master, W Bro. D S Padmanabhan Nair. He was ably assisted by Bro. Ranjith Karthikeyan who presented the Working Tools, R W Bro. M Ramaswamy Iyer who delivered the charge after initiation and Bro. Dr. Jyothindrakumar who explained the Tracing Board. The meeting was attended by 31 Brethren including 3 visitors and the ARGM.

In the morning, the Worshipful Master W Bro. D S Padmanabhan Nair along with the Secretary W Bro. Babu Sebastian, W Bro. Santhi Kumar ARGM and the candidate for Initiation, Mr. Kuriakose M. Jacob, visited the Oncology department of the Regional Cancer Centre and presented a cheque for Rs.2500/- being monthly contribution from the Lodge to the Centre as a part of the ongoing Charity Project.

Founders Day Functions:
15 years ago on the 26 th of April 1991 Lodge Ananathapadmanabha No.280 was consecrated. To commemorate the day and to felicitate the Founder Members, the Lodge conducted a special meeting on the 26 th April 2006 .

At the Meeting Bro. Arun Varghese was passed to the Degree of a Fellow Craft. The ceremony of Passing was conducted by the Worshipful Master W Bro. D S Padmanabhan Nair in a very impressive manner. Bro.Dr Jyothindrakumar delivered the charge after Passing.

The following 12 Founder Members of Lodge Ananthapadmanabha No.280 were present.: R W Bro. K R Rajasekharan Nayar OSM, R W Bro. M Ramaswamy Iyer, V W Bro. Brig V Krishnan Nair, W Bro. N Jayakrishnan Nair, W Bro. G Kumaran Nair, W Bro. Roger Oscar Christian, W Bro. Dr. P BalachandranNair, W Bro. Dr. George Thomas, W Bro. C G G Panicker, W Bro. T Ravindran, Bro. Zulfiquar Marikkar, W Bro. V R Krishnan Nair. R.W.Bro. His Highness Marthanda Varma, the subscribing Member of Lodge Ananthapadmanabha presented a memento on behalf of the Lodge to each of the Founders present. He also on his own behalf presented a copper coin depicting “Veda Vyasa”, whom he explained as the embodiment “Wisdom Beauty & Strength”. The Brethren were felicitated by R W Bro. H H Marthanda Varma. W Bro. Santhi Kumar ARGM conveyed greetings on behalf Right Worshipful the Regional Grand Master, R W Bro. Gutha Krishnan Selvarajan and felicitated the Founder members on their dedication and steering the Lodge to its present enviable stage. He also congratulated the Worshipful Master, W Bro. D S Padmanabhan Nair & Secretary W Bro. Babu Sebastian for their efforts in the organizing of this unique event successfully. R W Bro. K R Rajasekharan Nayar OSM & W Bro. G Kumaran Nair replied to the felicitations suitably and thanked the Worshipful Master & the Brethren for their gesture. Worshipful Master presented mementos to His Highness and the ARGM on behalf of the Brethren. The Meeting was very well attended with 32 Members and 14 visitors present. After the Meeting the Customary Toasts and one to the Founders were proposed. There was lot camaraderie and enjoyment at the Festive Board after the Meeting.

Lodge Aruvi No. 293
The Regular Meeting of Lodge was held on Saturday the 29 th April 2006 , at the Freemasons' Hall, Vazhuthacaud, Trivandrum at 6.30pm under Dispensation from the R W the Regional Grand Master.

22 Brethren were present including one visitor.

The ceremony of Raising Bro. Ramasubramonia Iyer was taken up. W Bro. R Sridhar, the Worshipful Master questioned the Candidate and passed on the PW & PG. The ceremony of Raising was conducted by W Bro. T Ravindran RGSW, in a very solemn and impressive ceremony. He was assisted in the presentation of Working Tools and the delivery of the Final Charge by W Bro. A Ravindran.

The Lodge took the decision to open a separate Charity Account to be operated by the Treasurer and with either the Worshipful Master or Secretary.

Selvi. E Narayanaselvi, who is an M Com student in Thiruvalluvar College at Papanasam who had lost her eye sight recently, is to undergo a Brain Surgery at the Chitra Centre, (SCT) Trivandrum . The Lodge decided to donate a sum of Rs.3000/= to this student to augment the finances to undergo the Surgery. Out of this a sum of Rs.2000/= is being donated by a Brother of the Lodge who does not want to reveal his name.

Lodge Palai No.318
No regular meeting in April.

Lodge Travancore No.329
The Regular Meeting of the Lodge was held on the 23 rd April 2006 at the Freemasons' Hall, Vazhuthacaud, Trivandrum at 5.30pm .

17 Brethren attended the Meeting. The ceremony of Passing Bro. Sreeji Gopan to the Degree of a Fellow Craft was conducted by the Worshipful Master, W Bro. Roy Abraham in a very impressive manner. He was assisted by Bro. S Sreekumar who delivered the SE Charge and Bro. Sacha Gomez, who explained the Tracing Board in an excellent manner.

The Lodge was also opened and closed in all the three Degrees.

A minutes silence was observed in memory of Bro. B N Mohankumar's Father and Bro. Dr. T S Rajasekharan's Mother, who had passed away recently.

The Secretary informed that Rs.1000/= towards advertisement in the Masonic Directory & Hand Book and contribution of Rs.2000/= towards MASONSOUTH were sent to RGL.

All the Lodges in the Area must be aware that the Ritual Working Competitions (First Stage) start from next month. I hope that all the Lodges in the Area have submitted their applications to the RGL with a copy to the ARGM. The proposed dates for the competition for each Lodge in the Area and all other details have already been discussed and communicated during the Workshop at Trivandrum . If any Lodge has any doubts on any of the above points, they may contact the ARGM immediately.

It is once again requested that the Lodges in the Area may please send a Report of their monthly activities (with photographs if available) to the ARGM by the 1 st or 2 nd of the succeeding month positively so that the ARGM can circulate the Monthly Report of the Area by the first week itself.

The Lodges in the Area are also requested to forward details of their activities with Photographs, to the ARGM to facilitate publication of the same in the MASONSOUTH and GLINDIA. You may forward the same directly also with a copy to the ARGM.

The Brethren are also requested to visit the Website of Lodge Trivandrum No.168 at –http://www.lodgetvm168.org - the activities in the Area are being uploaded in this site. The Managers of the site, W Bro. A Jayapalan & Bro. P Vijay kumar have requested the Brethren to visit the site and sign the guest book with their comments.

R W Bro. Gutha Krishnan Selvarajan, Right Worshipful the Regional Grand Master of the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India made a whirlwind visit of the Lodges in Ernakulam Area during the last week of April. He arrived on morning of 28 th April 2005 at Ernakulam and left on the morning of 1 st May 2006. He attended the following functions:

1. Installation Ceremony of Lodge Ananth No.315 on the evening of 28 th April – Bro. Bhanuprakash V. Pai was installed as Worshipful Master by W Bro. R Ramanujan, Worshipful Master in a very impressive ceremony.

2. On the evening of 29 th - Installation of W Bro. Titan Thomas as Worshipful Master of Lodge Kottayam 245 at the V O Markos Masonic Hall, Kottayam by the Worshipful Master W Bro. George Mathew in great style.

3. Presentation of Long Term Service Jewels to Comp. Varkey George (40 years), Comp. Alex George (40 years), E Comp. T A Joseph (25 years) E Comp Abraham Markos (25 years) of Chapter Kottayam No.90 and E Comp. Dr Zachariah Thomas (25 years) by M E Comp. G K Selvarajan, ME The Grand Superintendent of the Regional Grand Chapter of Southern India, on the morning of 30 th of April 2006 at the V O Markos Msonic Hall.

4. On the evening of 30 th April 2006 Installation of Bro. Jos Palathinkal as Worshipful Master of Lodge Vembanad No. 319 at the Sarvothama Masonic Temple , Kochi . The impressive ceremony was conducted by R W Bro. M Himatlal in the absence of Woeshipful Master, W Bro. Benny Kurian who was away from India .

5. Lodge Ananth No.315 and Lodge Vembanad No.319 have given financial assistance of Rs.50.000/- each ( Totaling to Rs.1 lakh) to a de addiction centre at Kochi sponsored by the Indian Medical Association. R W Bro. G K Selvarajan, R W the Regional Grand Master visited the centre on the afternoon of 28 th April 2006 accompanied by W Bro. C J Mathew ARGM of the Area, W Bro. A Gopalan ARGM, W Bro.D Santhi Kumar ARGM and the Brethren of Lodge Ananth & Vembanad.

These visits and functions were planned and executed in a meticulous manner by W Bro. C J Mathew, ARGM of the Area. All the Meetings were followed by the Festive Boards which were planned and laid out in impeccable manner. R W the Regional Grand Master paid encomiums to W Bro. C J Mathew the ARGM of the Area for the excellent arrangements. He also congratulated W Bro. Reji Markos, W Bro. Suresh Balram and E Comp. S Thirugnanamurthy who had acted as Regional Grand D of Cs.

Grand Lodge of India

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