By

Bro. Bharat V. Epur

Saturday, the 23rd of June 2001 was a red-letter day for Lodge Srinivasa Gopala No.190 and its Brethren. At long last, an idea had borne fruit, an idea that had been conceived in fits and starts way back in the second half of 1999 - when preparations for the Millennium eve celebrations at the Freemasons' Hall, Chennai were in full swing! Some of the Brethren of Lodge Srinivasa Gopala began discussing the idea of sponsoring a new Lodge to commemorate the new Millennium, a new Lodge in which to set new standards of all-round excellence, a new Lodge without any unwelcome old baggage. Sadly, these discussions did not go any further. It required the passage of another eighteen months before the needed thrust came from well-wishers like R.W.Bro. Arun Chintopanth, R.W., the Regional Grand Master, V.W.Bro. G. K. Selvarajan, W., the Deputy Regional Grand Master, W.Bro. Dr. John Reginald, W., the Assistant Regional Grand Master and V.W.Bro. Lodd Narendradas, W., the Regional Grand Secretary.

At a Meeting of the Standing Committee of Lodge Srinivasa Gopala held on 24th February 2001, it was decided to go ahead with this idea of sponsoring a new Lodge - to be styled as "The Millennium Lodge" - and to invite Brethren from not only Lodge Srinivasa Gopala, but also, from other Lodges to come in as Founder-Members. It was decided to invite W.Bro. K. V. Krishna Prasad to have the honour of becoming the Founder-Master of the Lodge, which he graciously accepted. It was also decided to appoint the author of this report as the Organising Secretary.

From then on, it was hectic work to get all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle in place - filling in the various forms, obtaining the innumerable 'No Demand Certificates', 'Clearance Certificates' and other papers, selecting the most suitable date for the consecration, making the necessary arrangements, etc.

Finally, the D-Day arrived - Saturday, 23rd June 2001. It was a glorious day. Even the Sun God was smiling on this auspicious day. M.W., the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India, M.W.Bro. Dilip Dwarkadas Udeshi, OSM reached the venue well in time. He was accompanied by his team of Grand Lodge Officers, including, M.W.Bro. Gautam R. Divan, OSM (Past Grand Master), R.W.Bro. D. Dhorrairaaj (The Deputy Grand Master), R.W.Bro. Arun Chintopanth (The Installing Officer), R.W.Bro. V. Rajendran, OSM and other distinguished Masons. After a brief photo session, the newly renovated Temple 1 - now, renamed as "Temple Srinivasa Gopala & Bangalore", in recognition of the generous contributions made by the Brethren of Lodge Srinivasa Gopala No.190 and those from the city of Bangalore - was inaugurated in a short and simple manner. It was only after this that the Brethren were allowed to enter this magnificent Temple and prepare for the Consecration of The Millennium Lodge.

M.W.Bro. D. D. Udeshi, OSM, M.W., the Grand Master consecrated the new Lodge in a very impressive manner. The following Grand Lodge Officers assisted him: R.W.Bro. D. Dhorrairaaj (as Immediate Past Master), R.W.Bro. Arun Chintopanth (as Installing Officer), R.W.Bro. V. Rajendran, OSM (as Senior Warden), R.W.Bro. Dr. B. Biswakumar (as Junior Warden), R.W.Bro. F. F. Hyderabadwalla (as Chaplain), V.W.Bro. Dr. Harish Gupta (as Secretary), V.W.Bro. Vinod K. Puri (as Director of Ceremonies), W.Bro. Rajeev Khandelwal (as Senior Deacon), W.Bro. N. N. Gupta (as Junior Deacon), W.Bro. T. L. Ram Mohan (as Sword Bearer), V.W.Bro. G. K. Selvarajan (as Deputy Director of Ceremonies), V.W.Bro. K. Ananthachari (as Assistant Director of Ceremonies), W.Bro. N. Pandurangan (as Standard Bearer), W.Bro. R. Dwarakanath (as Standard Bearer), W.Bro. Dr. John Reginald (as Inner Guard) and W.Bro. Dr. R. Krishna Kumar (as Tyler).
An extremely thought-provoking oration by R.W.Bro. F. F. Hyderabadwalla cast a spell on all those assembled in the Temple.

R.W.Bro. Arun Chintopanth installed W.Bro. K. V. Krishna Prasad as the Founder-Master of the newly consecrated and constituted Lodge Millennium No.327 with his customary aplomb. Then, the newly installed Master invested his new team of Founder Office Bearers, including Bro. Bharat V. Epur as the Founder Senior Warden and Bro. M. Govindarajan as Junior Warden. M.W.Bro. Gautam R. Divan, OSM delivered the traditional Address to the Worshipful Master. V.W.Bro. M. Himmatlal delivered the Address to the Wardens, as did R.W.Bro. V. Rajendran the Address to the Brethren.

The day's proceedings did not end there. In what might probably have been the first such instance, R.W.Bro Arun Chintopanth then took up the new Lodge's 'Banner Dedication Ceremony'. The Lodge Banner, donated by W.Bro. Kartik M. Patel and Bro. Dr. C. B. Nanjapa, was dedicated in the prescribed manner after which it was unfurled for all to behold. After this, W.Bro. K. V. Krishna Prasad proceeded to give an explanation of this beautiful and well-designed banner.

This was followed by the election of the following illustrious senior Masons as Honorary Members of the Lodge: M.W.Bro. D. D. Udeshi, OSM, R.W.Bro. Justice S. Padmanabhan, R.W.Bro. V. Sarangapani, R.W.Bro. Arun Chintopanth, R.W.Bro. Dr. B. Biswakumar, V.W.Bro. L. Narendradas, V.W.Bro. G. K. Selvarajan and W.Bro. Dr. John Reginald. After this, each and every Member - both ordinary as well as honorary - were presented with a personalised Founder Member Jewel, or, Honorary Member Jewel as the case may be. This was followed by the release of the Lodge Member's Directory by M.W.Bro. D. D. Udeshi, OSM.

The following donations to various charitable causes were also given away: (1) Rs.10,000/- to the Grand Lodge Fund of Benevolence, (2) Rs.10,000/- to the Masonic Foundation for the restoration of the Freemasons' Hall at Chennai, and, (3) Rs.5,000/- to the Lodge Srinivasa Gopala Charitable Trust.

After all the above ceremonies were over, the approximately 150 Brethren adjourned to the Binny Room of the Hotel Taj Connemara for a sumptuous luncheon.

On the whole, it was an entirely uplifting and satisfying experience for all of us. The events will not be soon forgotten as they have been indelibly etched in one's memory, thanks to the excellent manner in which the M.W., the Grand Master and his team of dedicated Grand Lodge Officers conducted the day's proceedings.

The yeoman services rendered by W.Bro. N. Pandurangan, the Assistant Regional Grand Secretary, and his team of dedicated staff at the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India have to be acknowledged here. But for their guidance, this Herculean task would have remained an idea. Coordination with the Grand Lodge of India was also made easier thanks to their efforts. Additionally, there were a number of other Brethren without whose help this consecration would not have taken place. The foremost among them were: W.Bro. K. V. Krishna Prasad, W.Bro. P. S. K. Chari, W.Bro. Dr. C. V. Krishnan, W.Bro. V. Chandrasekhar, W.Bro. A. Suryanarayana Rao, W.Bro. V. G. Madhusudan, W.Bro. Susheel Bhalla, W.Bro. Kartik M. Patel, W.Bro. Devesh J. Patel, W.Bro. Prem Behl, W.Bro. N. Suryanarayanamurthy, W.Bro. G. Ashok Mohan, W.Bro. T. R. Mohanakrishnan, W.Bro. Dr. G. V. Ramakrishna Rao, W.Bro. N. Ganesh, W.Bro. K. Ramadurai, Bro. Dinesh Deepak, Bro. Mahendra N. Jogani, Bro. M. Govindarraj, Bro. Dr. C. B. Nanjapa, Bro. V. Chandrakanth and Bro. Raja Ravindhran and many others. My sincere thanks to all of them for their constant support and encouragement.

Now that the new baby has been safely delivered, it is upto all of us, the Members of this Lodge, to ensure its proper upbringing and growth to successful manhood. I pray that the Great Architect of the Universe may shower His blessings on this new child of His! May the Millennium Lodge achieve many laurels in the future! May the Brethren of the Lodge reach for the stars and beyond!