Freemasons lodge celebrates 100 years of service

The Lodge Star of the South No 101, one of the largest centres of freemasonry in southern India, celebrated its centenary on November 5, at The Annaswamy Academy, Moore Road.

In attendance at the event, were freemasons from across the country, including Anish Kumar Sharma, grand master of the Grand Lodge of India and Vinjamur Govindraj Madhusudhan, regional grand master of southern India.

Established in 1921, the Lodge currently has 784 members and completes 100 years in December. To celebrate the occasion, the group sponsored learning equipment, Montessori material and audiovisual equipment worth Rs seven lakh, for the students of Skylight at The Annaswamy Academy. The school focuses on educating kids from underprivileged backgrounds from across India.

The motto of the charity project is ‘Teach a Man to Fish’, says Mahendra Kumar D Patel, head of Lodge Star of the South No 101. “We believe that instead of merely doing charity by donating food, we can empower the community by teaching them the means of earning for themselves,” he told DH.

Charity lies at the core of freemasonry, according to Madhusudhan.

“In freemasonry, we’re in the process of making good men better. We work on personality development, in a way that is useful to the society at large. Charity is an integral part of freemasonry and we try to do as much as we can with the little resources we have,” he elaborates.

The fraternal organisation traces its roots to the local guilds of stonemasons from the 13th century. Currently, the Grand Lodge of India has over 400 units spread across the country.

“Many units have been around for over 100 years, and have been doing exceptional work. Wherever there is distress, we try to help,” says Sharma.