Lodge Fraternity & Perseverance No. 31, GLI

Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No. 31 April meeting concluded

Charity program by brethren of Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No. 31

Focus: For injured, sick and disabled animals, cows etc.

Safety Net and medicine donation to Swadhin Sagar Nandishala by Lodge Fraternity & Perseverance No. 31, an initiative by W.Bro. Kamlesh Jindal, W.Bro. Anzar Alam Siddiqui, WBro. Umesh Gupta (Lodge 250). In co-op of WM W.Bro. Vikas Rastogi.

Present
W.Bro. Vinod Kr Singh,
W.Bro. Aditya V Singh,
W.Bro. Subhash Chand
WBro. Shantanu Chandra
Bro. Diwakar Das
Bro. Rama Shankar Jaiswal
Bro. Balasundaram P
Bro. Ankur Agarwal
Bro. Prasoon Rastogi

2024 - Universal Brotherhood Day

2023 - Universal Brotherhood Day

2014 Long Term Service Jewel Ceremony

Eastern Side
R.W. Bro. Bharath Venkat Epur

In Queue
R.W. Bro. Dr. Nand Lal Agarwal
R.W. Bro. Vishwanath Prasad Agarwal
R.W. Bro. Shree Kumar Chaudhary

Cir 2013 R.W. Bro. Umesh Dhandhaniya appointed and invested as Dy. RGM-Eastern India

2012 - Area Meeting of Lodges in Varanasi.

Circa 1972 M.W.Bro. Prof. M.S. Thacker, OSM with W.Bro. T.N. Bhargava, Lodge 31 (later R.W. Bro. T. N. Bhargava, RGM EI, 1994)

HISTORY OF LODGE FRATERNITY & PERSEVERANCE NO. 31 1845 - 2026

It was, until very recently, believed that freemasonry came to Varanasi in 1878 when Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No. 1746 E.C. was consecrated. Incontrovertible evidence which has come to light since then, establishes beyond doubt whatsoever that freemasonic movement reached Varanasi almost half a century before that time and if we ignore technicalities, our Lodge also came into existence that much earlier.

M.W. Bro. Dr. Late Arthur Shramm, a widely travelled man from medical profession, was an enthusiastic Mason and a proud member of our Lodge. He contacted the Librarian and Curator of the Grand Lodge of England to find some well-known names among the members of the Lodge who may have made their mark nationally or locally in their time. While he failed to locate any eminent national personality, he stumbled on the startling fact that there already existed a Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No.760 as early as 1845.According to Lanes’ Masonic Records the Lodge No. 760, warranted on 9th August 1845, was placed in abeyance on 24th June 1854 and resuscitated on 27th December 1858. Its number was changed from 760 to 519 when United Grand Lodge was closing up the number of Lodges on its rolls. The last entries on the returns in the Grand Lodge register were made in 1864. Nothing more is known except that it was erased in 1886 with the endorsement to the effect that the warrant of the Lodge is not traceable.

In view of the above it is reasonable to assume that the founders of our Lodge led by Bro. John Crossland Hay attempted to resuscitate Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No. 519 but failed in their attempt on some technical ground. They began to hold meetings of the Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance (No. 46) under dispensation from the District Grand Master of Bengal. At the same time seven Brethren led by Bro. John Crossland Hay submitted their petition in February 1878 for a Warrant. The Petition was signed by seven brethren including Bro. John Crossland Hay, Bro. Isaac Burnett and Bro. James Ross who were named as first W. Master, Senior Warden and Junior Warden respectively. It was sponsored by Lodge Star in the East No. 67 of Calcutta (still on the rolls of United Grand Lodge). The Lodge was warranted on 14th March 1878, and was allotted the name applied for i.e. Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No. 1746 and was duly consecrated in a befitting manner.

Although the number of brethren in the Lodge was small it made small progress and continued to hold regular meetings till 1888. On the dismal evening of 13th November 1988 Bro. George Horace Wilson, Bro. John Triton Moorhead, Bro. James Armstrong, Bro. John Clark, Bro. W.D. Holmes and Bro. Henry Ralf Moses (None was Master, Past Master or Warden) met as usual but to their utter grief, failed to hold the Lodge meeting for want of quorum. Such a gloomy evening was not seen before and we pray that, that was the last of its kind. From 13th November 1888, our dear mother Lodge went to sleep, it was not a sleep that knows no waking, but a sleep that induces vigour and strength and gives forth to determined action. But our Brethren that evening did not and could not know when the rest will come to an end; and perhaps that sleep would have ended as a sleep of death had it not been for a happy combination of circumstances which brought all the scattered Masonic elements under one umbrella. It was on 24th March 1891 that Bro. N.M. Roy came to Varanasi. Within a week there came W. Bro. J.N. Wright. Two such luminaries coming into contact could not fail to produce results of far reaching consequences. It was on the evening of 9th June 1891, after a gap of two and a half years, that two brethren of Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance viz. W. Bro. John Triton Moorhead and Bro. Thomas DeHoxor held the Lodge meeting with the assistance of W. Bro. J.N. Wright and Bro. N.M. Roy and others. In that meeting Bro. N.M. Roy acted as Secretary. The only two brethren of Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance managed between themselves to propose and second nine persons for initiation and eight brethren for joining.

Thus our Mother Lodge was shaken out of slumber and got a new lease of life and security which made its journey to the next hundred years rewarding to the generations of Masons to come. During those hot summer months Bro. Roy and Bro. Wright sat within the four walls of the Mint House (Tacksal) without the help of modern contrivances to eliminate or minimize the effect of burning Sun. Cut off from the fresh air, sweating profusely, actuated by one and the same motive worked with unanimity of opinion which should ideally characterise the proceedings of all the Masonic bodies. Since then Bro. Roy was at the forefront of freemasonry till his death. He threw himself in the work of resuscitation with zeal, which is worth emulating. In hard and difficult times he was a source of encouragement and strength to all the brethren. As a matter of fact he was the sheet anchor of freemasonry in Varanasi.

The petition for resuscitation was submitted and the Lodge was officially revived on 14th July 1891.

The main cause of failure of Lodge in 1888 is not difficult to guess. In those days it was a Whiteman’s organisation. Only four out of 132 persons admitted during the ten year period between its formation in 1878 and its going in abeyance in 1889 were Indians. Most of the British Brethren were drawn from the Army or Civil Services and were subjected to frequent transfers. They could hardly provide stability to a Lodge, especially to one situated in a town with tiny migratory British population. However this situation changed radically after July 1891. The resuscitation of the Lodge was accomplished almost entirely due to the untiring efforts of Bro. Nil (pronounced Neel) Madhav Roy. After the Lodge was revived he encouraged and motivated the elite of the town to join Freemasonry. The average strength of the Lodge almost doubled to fifty, and thus the British domination in the Lodge was over. The Indian brethren in due course began to occupy positions of responsibility. In 1893, Bro. Nil Madhav Roy became the first Indian to adorn the Eastern Chair; and thereafter offices were given on the basis of merit.

The Lodge, in those days used to meet in al hall in Tacksal (The Mint House) situated about a kilometre form our present building. After resuscitation many Indians also joined the Lodge and they were very eager to have a proper Freemasons’ Hall. A scheme was drawn up and building plan was prepared by Bro. Travers Edward Madden. A plot of land measuring 27,000 sq. ft. was acquired for the Lodge by Bro. N.N. Bawaadam and the entire cost of erecting the building was borne by Bro. Madho Lal (this Bro. Madho Lal is different from earlier Bro. Nil Madhav Roy). The munificence of Bro. Madho Lal may be appreciated by the fact that he never wanted his name to be mentioned as the donor. It was the brethren of that time who insisted on affixing a marble plaque mentioning his name as the donor of the building and the date thereof. Had they not done so we brethren of today would have been in the dark and unaware of this fact. We are ever grateful to such true and large-hearted Masons of the past and for their magnificent gifts. The Freemasons’ Hall was completed in 1899 and since then all lodge meetings are being held there. Our Masonic hall comprises of large temple and a long banquet hall. In between the two there are rooms for dressing and preparing the candidates, entrance room where the Tyler sits, some other rooms for records and storing miscellaneous items and a men’s room. There is also a servants quarter on the southern boundary. In the year 1932 Bro. Rai Govind Chand donated enough funds for digging and making a well and installing an electric motor pump. This solved the problem of water supply to the Lodge.

During the first 70 years under the English constitution Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance made considerable progress and had on its roll many distinguished personalities from different professions who later on made their mark in Masonic world and different stations of their civil life. The year 1961 was a landmark year for our Lodge it had the option to remain under the English constitution or to join Grand Lodge of India, a new constitution to be created before the end of the year. Brethren of our Lodge by majority resolved to opt for the new constitution. This was a very wise decision. Freemasonry became more popular. Young persons from trade and profession with middle class background began to be admitted into the Lodge and its membership increased and soon the need for more Lodges in the city and neighbouring towns became apparent. Our Lodge took the initiative and sponsored three new Lodges a brief description of each will be of interest for all.

1. Gorakhpur Lodge No. 157 - The Lodge was duly consecrated on 25th November 1963 in the temple of the Freemasons Hall, Varanasi. By the then M.W.G.M., M.W. Bro. Bhogilal C. Shah.

2. Lodge Fragrance of Brotherly Love No. 250 - was consecrated first on 3rd October 1983 .

3. Lodge Budha of Past Master No. 270 - was consecrated on 22nd December 1986 in a befitting manner by the Regional Grand Master, R.W. Bro. Sukumar De on behalf of the Grand Master M.W. Bro. Prakash Narain.

Our Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No.31 is not only one of the bigger one but also the most active in the eastern region.

Six joint meetings of Lodges of the region, seven half yearly meetings of Regional Grand Lodge of Eastern India and three Grand Lodge festivals have been held under its banner.

First ever such joint meeting was organized on 4th October 1976. Lodge Fraternity & Perseverance No 31, Lodge Ajodhya-on-Sarju No.13, Lodge Nipal No. 38, Lodge Gorakhpur No. 157, Lodge Pachauri No. 214 was held on 4th October 1976 when M.W. Bro. Justice D.P. Madon, M.W.G.M. presided. .

The second joint meeting of the Lodges of Eastern part of the region was held on 25th March 1983. Lodge Fraternity & Perseverance No 31, Lodge Ajodhya-on-Sarju No.13, Lodge Nipal No. 38, Lodge Gorakhpur No. 157, Lodge Pachauri No. 214, and Lodge Patna No. 105 participated.

The third joint meeting of the Lodges of Eastern Region was held on 29th June 1999, Lodge 31 and250 participated. MW.HP Mathur GM, RW Dilip Basu, RGM, RW. S. Krishnan, Grand Secretary attended the function.

The fourth joint meeting was held on. 7th July 2012, Lodge 31, Lodge 250, and Lodge 270 participated. MW. Capt. Dr. B. Biswakumar GM, RW. Raja Mukherjee, RGM attended the Function.

The fifth joint meeting. was held on 24th May 2014. Lodge 31, Lodge 250, and Lodge 270 participated,

The sixth joint meeting. was held on 20th Nov 2014. RW Bharat Epur, RGM attend the function, Ladies were also present to witness the ceremony

The first ever half yearly meeting of the Regional Grand Lodge of India was held on 25th November 1963. There after Second, third, forth, fifth, sixth and seventh half yearly meetings were held on 15.10.1977, 8.7.1984, 25.9.1993, 24.2.1996, 16.9.2000, and 28.2. 2009 respectively.

In the annals of our Lodge it was on 25th November 1963 that the ruler of the Craft M.W. Bro. Bhogilal C. Shah, M.W.G.M. visited this Lodge. In subsequent years we had the honour of welcoming all the Grand Masters of G.L.I. in our Lodge.

1987 - M.W. Bro. Justice Prakash Narain, OSM re-elected Grand Master for a second term of three years and re-installed as M.W. The Grand Master at the Grand Festival held at Varanasi.

1992 - Centenary celebration of Lodge Fraternity and Perseverance No. 31 Varanasi which was graced by M.W. Bro. Gautam Ramanlal Divan, OSM MW The Grand Master.

2005 - M.W.G.M. M.W. Bro. Arun Chintopanth, OSM consecrated Lodge Bhola No. 344 at Varanasi.

2005 - Annual Grand Festival Communication was held at Varanasi.

2009 - M.W.the Grand Master, M.W.Bro.Justice Devinder Gupta, OSM attended the Annual Meeting of Regional Grand Lodge of Eastern India at Varanasi.

2016 - Officially visited to Lodge Fraternity and Preservance No.31 at their 125th Anniversary Celebrations at Varanasi

2016 - Grand Festival Communication of Grand Lodge of India at Varanasi

2022 - Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Regional Grand Lodge of Eastern India at Varanasi.

2023 - Lodge Fraternity & Perseverance No.31 to present 50 years Long Term Service Jewel to R.W.Bro.Dr.Nandlal Agrawal at Varanasi.