The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : New Grand Master takes over amid rituals

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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

New Grand Master takes over amid rituals

Staff Reporter

For the first time women witnessed the ceremony

— Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Grand gathering: Balaram Biswakumar, the new Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India, being greeted by his predecessor Devender Gupta at the installation ceremony in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: In an impressive and grand installation ceremony steeped in ancient traditions and protocols, Balaram Biswakumar took over as the 14th Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India here on Saturday.

Hundred of masons and non-masons, including women and children, witnessed the event that went on for two hours, the first such time the doors were opened for women in the all-men society.

Right from welcoming the active officers of the Grand Lodges with a march to taking the pledge before the five volumes of the sacred law, the proceedings showed the seriousness and sovereignty in the way the Freemasons have been conducting the ceremonies. The crowd looked in awe when rituals where started by invoking the almighty, again showing their belief and faith.

The outgoing Grand Master Devender Gupta installed Dr. Biswakumar by handing over an apron, gauntlet, gold chain and gavel, standing for an emblem of power, authority and duties in the new job.

In his farewell speech, Mr. Gupta said though the Lodges have seen an increase of 16 percent in its membership in the last three years, the dropout rate is a matter of concern and adequate measures have to be taken to address it.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Biswakumar, senior neurosurgeon, said, “Masonry gives an opportunity to mould people and become better citizens, thus becoming ornaments of the society.” On the society being described as a secret society, he said, “It’s not so but we do have some secrets. It’s like getting access to someone else secret password.”

Amid the gathering, the rapt attention with which non-masons watched the proceeding could not go unnoticed. Eight-five-year-old Revathi Balaram, mother of the new Grand Master, said it was a proud moment to sit through the ceremony.

Others such as Reena Arora, whose husband and son are Freemasons, said they did not know how time flew. “It was spellbinding to see how tradition and values do not die and how a society can be instrumental in giving character to an individual.”

Representatives of Grand Lodges from Mauritius, Switzerland and Germany attended the ceremony.

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