Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland in India

Dear brethren of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland of India.

While we make no claim of superiority in numbers, we are proud to be close, compact, coherent and caring group of Freemasons and our relationships inter se are so cordial that they may well be envy of other Constitutions. We are ever ready and willing to comfort the distressed, to soothe their afflictions, and exert our outmost to practise the truly Masonic principles of Benevolence and Brotherly love. It is, therefore, a most apt and timely endeavour to have a Directory of Irish Freemasons in India, which is sure to make an impact on our Brethren and strengthen ties of Brotherly Love, It will assist our Brethren to effectively interact, and play a vital role in promoting their zeal for the principles of Freemasonry--the cardinal principles of Peace, Love, Harmony.

Our Most worshipful Grand master, in his speech of St. John's Day, 27th December 2001, drew our attention to the general trend of failing numbers. Happily, we are in a fortunate position to say that despite deaths, resignations and removals, our numbers have been fairly steady. But if we are to progress, prosper and flourish, we must seek out identify of it and competent and suitable candidates for Freemasonry, and induct them into our Order.

R. W. LAHU CHANDRAKANT CHOGLE

Rt.Worshipful The Provincial Grand Master of The Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland in India

History

The Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India was formed under the leadership of Late R W Bro. William Mason, the then Grand Inspector for Irish Freemasonry in India on 1st May 1956. R W Bro. William Mason was the first Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India, followed by R W Bro. M D Bharucha in 1961 and R W Bro. E G Reporter from 1964 to 1978 and R W Bro. Capt. Sam B Aga. The Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India was reconstituted as the Provincial grand Lodge of Ireland in India on 22nd October 1983 with R W Bro. Capt. Sam B Aga as the first Provincial Grand Master of the reconstituted Provincial Grand Lodge which also incorporated the Provincial Grand Lodge of Eastern India .

The Irish fraternity in India consisted of 27 Lodges. Not many survived. The ravages of time and eventual opting of a few Lodges to join the newly constituted Grand Lodge of India, the total number of Lodges in the Province stabilised to 10, equally distributed between Eastern and Western India. With the Lodges in Eastern India having difficult times, it was decided to relocate them to other Masonic centres. Accordingly, they were relocated at new Delhi, Chennai, Kanpur, Pune and Calicut. It was a prudent move of R W Bro.Capt. Sam B Aga, the provincial Grand Master of the reconstituted Provincial Grand Lodge and R W Bro. C K Maarfatia, the then Provincial Grand Secretary to relocated the stagnant Lodges to better locations where they could, and indeed have, prospered and flourished with the active and dynamic support of the local Brethren.

Lodges in the province

St Patrick's - 3rd Thur 7.00pm, Mumbai
Tara - Last working day in 1,4,7,10, Mumbai
Donoughmore - 4th Thur 6.45pm (ex 5,6,7,12), Poona
Mindin - 3rd Fri 7.00pm (ex 6,7), Chennai
Hely Hutchinson - 1st Fri 1,4,7,10. 1st Sat 2,3,5,6,8,9,11,12. 6.30pm
Harp of Erin - 3rd Thur 6.30pm, Mumbai
The Bombay - 1st Fri 7.00pm, New Delhi
Swastik - 2nd Wed 6.30pm, Bombay
Nowroze Wadia - 2nd Tue 6.30pm (ex 5), Calcutta
Saxena - 2nd Sat 6.30pm (ex 2 & 8) Calicut, Kerala

Saxena lodge 815 - Officers for 2009

Worshipful Master         W.Bro. C.Gokulan
Senior Warden                Bro.K.G.Ramakrishnan
Junior Warden                Bro.M.Nithyanand Kamath
Treasurer                        W.Bro.T. Gopakumar, PM
Secretary                         W.Bro.K.Chandra Mohan Pro.G.Suptd of Wks ,PM
Director of Ceremonies W.Bro.M.G.Gopinath Pro.G.Organist, PM
Steward of Charities      Bro.S.Sivakumaran
Almoner                          Bro.P.M.Harris
Chaplain                          Bro.Sabu Rahiman
Senior Deacon                Bro. Haseeb Ahamed
Junior Deacon                Bro. K.V.Vinod
Inner Guard                   Bro. Satheesh Chandran
Asst.Secretary               Bro.Ramesh Narendran
Asst. Dof C                      Bro.K.P.Prashob
Steward                          Bro.Srinath Gireesh
Steward                          Bro.Anil Viswanath
Steward                          Bro. Jos Thomas Cheriyanirappil
Steward                          Bro.Schiller Jos
Tyler                               Bro.K.Mohandas

Irish freemasonry and Ireland links

17 Molesworth Street, Dublin
A review of freemasonry
Asian Masonic Resource
Freemasonry for women
Freemasonry in Society Today and Tomorrow
Insiders guide to hidden Dublin
Lodge Ailsa No 1172 S.C Singapore
Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland in India (being updated)
St Patrick's Lodge No 5742 E.C. ! !
The Hon. Mrs Elizabeth Aldworth
The Lodge of research # CC
The Oldest Travelling Military Lodge in the World
The Origin of Freemasonry
The Premier Lodge of Connaught, No. 14

Saxena lodge 815 IC - Members

63 R.W.Bro. S.B. Chatterjee H.P.G. Stwd., P.Pro.Dy.G.M., Pro. G. Insp. PM(1991-93) A 17-04-82
78 R.W.Bro. P.R. Datar H.P.G.D., P.Pro.Dy.G.M. P.M.(1994) A 23-02-94
80 W. Bro. K.K. Varma, P.Prov.G.Almoner, Director of Ceremonies P.M.(2001) A 23-02-94
81 W. Bro. Abdul Jifri, Pro.G.Sup. of Wks P.M.(1996) A 23-02-94
82 V.W.Bro. Darius.P. Marshall, Pro.G.Chaplain P.M.(1997) A 23-02-94
83 W. Bro. D.V. Vijayakumar, P.Pro.G.Steward P.M.(1998) A 23-02-94
86 W. Bro. Kirit P. Asher, Hon.P.Pro.G.Sup. of Wks, Secretary P.M.(1999) A 23-02-94
87 W. Bro. K.P. Surendran A 23-02-94
88 W. Bro. K. Chandra Mohan, P.Pro.G,Steward of Charities P.M.(2000) A 23-02-94
89 W. Bro. K. Janardanan A 23-02-94
92 W. Bro. K.V. Kunhamed A 23-02-94
93 W. Bro. P. Sugathan A 23-02-94
94 W. Bro. K.V. Basheer Ahmed A 23-02-94
96 W. Bro. P.A. Bhaskaran , PM A 23-02-94
98 W. Bro. U. Rajkumar A 23-02-94
99 Bro. A. Ramachandran A 23-02-94
100 W. Bro. K. Neelakandan A 23-02-94
103 W. Bro. M.S. Duleep, P.Pro. G. Organist P.M.(2002) A 23-02-94
104 W. Bro. P.M. Suresh P.M.(2003) A 23-02-94
105 Bro. K.P. Narendran, Treasurer I 27-07-94
106 Bro. C. Vivek, P. Pro.G.Organist W.M.(2004) I 26-09-94
107 Bro. T. Gopakumar, Junior Warden I 24-10-94
108 Bro. V.K. Rajan I 30-01-95
109 W. Bro. Abraham K. Thomas A 24-04-95
110 W. Bro. N. Jayakrishnan Nair A 24-04-95
111 Bro. Velayudhan Moni,Senior Deaconi A 24-04-95
112 Bro. P.K. Nazeem A 24-04-95
113 Bro. P. Jayachand A 24-04-95
114 Bro. M.G. Gopinath, PM I 24-07-95
116 W. Bro. D.V. Rajkumar, Chaplain A 29-01-96
118 Bro. K. Venugopal A 29-01-96
119 Bro. M. Nithyanand Kamath, Tyler I 25-11-96
120 Bro. T.T. Paul I 10-01-98
121 Bro. K. Sajan Sukumaran I 13-06-98
122 Bro. K. Mohandas, Asst. Secretary A 24-05-99
123 Bro. K.V. Vinod, Steward of Charaties A 24-05-99
124 Bro. P.V. Nidish I 12-06-99
125 Bro. C. Gokulan, Junior Deacon I 10-07-99
126 Bro. K. Kesavaram I 11-09-99
127 Bro. K.V. Haseeb Ahamed,Asst. D of C A 13-11-99
128 Bro. T.R. Venugopal I 14-10-00
129 Bro. K.G. Ramakrishnan, Inner Guard I 11-11-00
130 Bro. Manoj Kumar Madathil, Steward I 08-09-01
131 Bro.K.R.Ramachandran A 11-05-02
132 Bro.T.Satheesh Chandran, Almoner I 14-09-02
133 Bro.K.P.Prashob, Steward A 14-12-02
134 Bro.K. Ramesh Narendran I 08-03-03
135 Bro.C.S.Saleem, F.C. I 12-07-03
136 Bro. Ajit T. Mathew, E.A. I 10-04-04
137 Bro. Sabu Rahiman, E.A. I 08-05-04
138 Bro. P.M.Harris, E.A. I 11-09-04
139 Bro. S.Sivakumaran, E.A. I 09-10-04
140 Bro. Anil Vishwanath, E.A. I 13-11-04

Calicut

Calicut (Kozhikode) , the most important city of Malabar region of Kerala, was a leading trading centre for spices on the West Coast of India during the medieval period. Ruled by the Zamorin dynasty, calicut found a place in World History with the discovery of sea route to India in 1498 by the Portuguese navigator Vasco Da Gama. The landing of Gama at Kapat near Calicut changed the political scanario of India, which ultimately ended with it's colonization by the British. It remained under the Madras Presidency till the formation of Kerala in 1956 after independence.

Early History :

Not much is known about the early history of Calicut. However a few prehistoric relics like rock cut caves were found in the district at many places. During the sangam age, the district formed part of the Chera Empire. It played a leading part in fostering trade relations between Kerala and outside world. Tondi, the present Kadalundi as per scholars, was one of the most flourishing seaports of Kerala that time. Again nothing is known in the post-sangam age which is considered to be the Dark Age in South India's history. In the 9th century, Calicut became a part of the Second Chera Empire. The Chera's also known as Perumals, ruled the territory till 1122 AD. With the fall of Cheras, the kingdom was divided into many independent districts called 'Nadus' such as Ernad and Polanad. Originally Calicut area was under the Porlarthris, rulers of Polanad. It became an important town in 13th century with the conquest of Polanad by the King of Ernad.

Formation of Calicut :

The Udaiyavar of Ernad, whose headquarters was at Nediyiruppu wanted an outlet to the sea and after fighting with the Polatthiri King for 48 long years conquered the area around Ponniankara and build a fort at a place called Velapuram. Thus the city of Calicut came into existence sometime in the 13th Century AD. With the accession of Calicut, the status of Nediyirippu increased and he come to known as Swami Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad, which gradually became Samuri or Samuthiri over the years. The Europeans called him Zamorin. The place surrounded by the fort was known as Koyil (palace) Kotta (fort) and hence the name of the place became Kozhikode. Foreigners called it by different names, For Arabs it was Kalikat, for Chinese it was Kalifo while the city is known to outside world by its European name - Calicut.

Calicut became a mighty seaport, where the Arabs and the Chinese met to exchange the products of west with the east and vise versa. Religious tolerance, good administration, which gave security and impartiality to all and the friendly attitude of Zamorin to all traders, made Calicut the chief centre of trade in Malabar region. Zamorin gave special concession to Arabs (the Moors) to carry out trade. Islam was also propagated here.

According to K.V. Krishna Iyer, the rise of calicut is at once a cause and a consequence of Zamorin's ascendancy in Kerala. By the end of the century, Zamorin was at the zenith of his powers with all princes and chieftains of Kerala north of Cochin acknowledging his suzerainty.

Irish Freemasonry

There is no certain evidence that operative lodges existed in Ireland, and there is only a single literary allusion to a Speculative Lodge at Dublin in 1688. The first certain date is 26 June 1725, when a meeting of the Grand Lodge at Dublin elected the Earl of Rosse as its 'New Grand Master'. The Dublin Grand Lodge, however, was not the only one in Ireland. Just as in England, provincial lodges were wary of submitting to a central authority. Many of them paid little attention to directives from Dublin. while in Cork an independent Grand Lodge of Munster survived for seven years until 1773. For the rest of the eighteenth century the Grand Lodge of Ireland had no rivals and, except for the brief emergence of a Grand Lodge in Ulster in the early nineteenth century, it has continued to act as the sole Masonic authority in Ireland.

In Masonic terms, Ireland was also a model of religious tolerance. Protestants and Catholics came together in the Craft, and for many years the statesman and patriot Daniel O'Connell played an active part in Irish Freemasonry, resigning from the Craft only when a misguided belief that Freemasons were to blame for the excesses of the French Revolution led the Roman Catholic hierarchy to enforce the anti-Masonic Bulls of 1738 and 1751. This foolish action led to a great exodus of Catholics from the Craft, for which a terrible price in sectarian violence has subsequently been paid.

But despite such setbacks, Irish Masonry flourished. Lodges under the Irish Constitution were founded overseas and from 1732 it was the Grand Lodge of Ireland that issued the first travelling warrants to regiments of the British Army. While this had little impact on English Freemasonry, a later influence in English Masonry was to create an upheaval in the Craft that would have dramatic and far reaching consequences.

History of Saxena Lodge No 815 IC

The Lodge was warranted on June 2, 1960 and established at Calcutta to preserve the memory of Very Worshipful Brother RAMESWAR DAYAL SAXENA, Honorary Past Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, Provincial Grand Secretary of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Eastern India, who died on July 21, 1959.The fact that the Lodge was granted its Warrant within a year of his death is suggestive of the high estimation and regard enjoyed by Bro.Saxena amongst his brethren during his lifetime.

The Lodge worked at Calcutta till February 23,1994 and was transferred to Calicut on the advice of the Rt.Worshipful Provincial Grand Master of Ireland in India, Rt.Wor.Bro.Capt.Sam B. Aga.
The first communication of the Lodge at Calicut was held at the Freemasons' Hall, West Hill, Calicut on Tuesday, June 28, 1994 when V.Wor.Bro. Capt.P.R.Datar was Installed as Worshipful Master by the Rt.Wor. the Provincial Grand Master of Ireland in India, Rt.W.Bro.Capt.Sam B.Aga, assisted by V.Wor.Bro.C.K.Marfatia, Provincial Grand Secretary.

The membership of the Lodge at that time was twenty nine,including Bro.Datar and 26 other brethren from Calicut who were Affiliated to the Lodge at its last meeting at Calcutta on February 23, 1994 when V.Wor.Bro.Sitangu Bhusan Chatterjee was in the Chair. The sagacious guidance of Rt.Wor.Bro.Capt.Sam B.Aga, disciplined response by the Brethren of Calcutta, decisive action by the Grand Lodge, the dedication of the Worshipful Master and Brethren at Calicut transformed the Lodge from the moribund to vibrant life. In the nearly 8 years at Calicut we have held 73 Communications under 9 Worshipful Masters, had 14 Initiations and 12 affiliations.

The present strength of the Lodge is 62.

Rt.Wor.Bro.E.F.Smith & Rt.Wor.Bro.S.B.Chaterjee, Past Masters of the Lodge from its Calcutta days and are continuing there membership, were elected as Emeritus Members on 8-12-2001.
This chronicle will not be complete without recording and acknowledging the tremendous, high quality and single minded exertions of V.Wor.Bro. Dr.M.G. Sahadevan, PHG Stwd of Charities, Pro.G Chaplain, who had toiled ceaselessly and passionately to bring the Lodge from Calcutta to Calicut, and once it was in Calicut to nurse and nurture it first as Senior Warden, then Worshipful Master and lastly as Secretary - and above all as a quintessential teacher.