The Permanent Committee of the Lodge of Universal Charity No 273 is pleased to present the Annual Report for the year ended 30th November 2013.

The year commenced with the Installation of W Bro Ilango Raphael, as the W Master, into the Eastern Chair of this Ancient Lodge. The Lodge is set for a continuous line of aspiring Master Masons into this high office, and it is hoped that with the assistance and kindly advice of the Past Masters the high standards in administration, ritual working, and well ruling of the Lodge will remain consistent with the traditions set by our illustrious predecessors.

Memebership

The membership of the Lodge commenced with 47 Resident Members, 6 Non-resident Members and 2 Honorary Member. During the year there were 7 initiations, 1 Joining, 1 automatic cessations and 1 death bringing the total membership at the end of the year to 59 (Resident 53 & Non-Resident 6).

Labour

The practice of singing the Opening Hymn and Closing Ode is maintained and the National Anthem is rendered at the end of each meeting.

The Lodge met 10 times with an average attendance of 26. Every meeting had a ceremony. There were 7 initiations, 3 passing and 2 raising during the year. Portions of ritual working were phased out to junior brethren with past Masters ably assisting them, thereby maintaining the camaraderie which is the hall mark of this Lodge.

Mentoring

W Bro D Rajasekaran was appointed as Mentor of the Lodge. The mentoring process was put into active practice as in the previous years which had benefitted the younger Brethren. Also Initiates and younger brethren were in-the-charge of senior Brethren such as W Bro Sukesh Menon and W Bro Sunil Koliyot. During ceremonies a senior brother such as W Bro A C Patel, W Bro Duleep Sahadevan accompanied the younger brethren who are asked to retire temporarily and spent quality time on Masonic Education.

Masonic Education & Mentoring

Inviting the Dist Grand Orator and the Dist Grand Mentor to the Lodge is a regular affair. Following took place during this year:

Co-Hosting The Lodge Of Instruction

The meeting of The Lodge of Instruction was held on 16th of July 2013 which was co-hosted by our Lodge along with The Archibald Campbell Lodge. The ceremony of Raising was demonstrated with active participation form the Masters, Wardens and the Brethren of the host Lodges as well as the Dist Grand Orator and the Dist Grand Mentor. W Bro V J Bharat was the preceptor. Many local and outstation brethren participated. This was followed by refreshments and dinner hosted by the two Lodges.

Charity

True to the name of our Lodge we do charity as much as possible. This year till now the following organizations, institutions and individuals had benefitted from our charity collections:

(a) Educational scholarship to the tune of Rupees Sixty five Thousand as details givens below

(b) Educational scholarship by the Brethren of lodge to the tune of Rupees Twenty Thousand as details given below :

(c) Monetary assistance of Rupees five thousand for treatment to Manikand Gowtham suffering from cancer.

(d) Rupees Ten thousands Archibald Campbell Lodge on 9th Feb 2012, for their Annual Investiture Meeting of DGL of Madras at Chennai.

(e) Rupees Five thousand The Lodge Anchor of Hope No.1093 on 10th Aug 2012, for their half yearly DGL Meeting at Coonoor.

(f) Rupees Six thousand to Lodge Ampthill No. 3682 for their next DGL Investiture Meeting scheduled on 8th Feb 2014.

(g) As is the practice, provisions were purchased from the Charity Collections from the Regular Meetings totaling to Rs 26,930/-  and distributed to old age homes, orphanages Viz Mercy Home, Vuyiroli, Bethel Home, Arunodhya.

(h) Rs.10000/- was donated ‘ABAYASHRAM’ shelter for destitute women located in Bangalore, as recommended by Lodge Southern Brotherhood No.3311 EC.

(i) Financial Assistance of Rs.7500/- to Mr.Lakshmanan, the physically handicapped watchman of PGP Manor, Kilpauk, recommended by W. Bro. Sukesh Menon.

Car Rally & Treasure Hunt: Charitable Event

This was a first time event in the history of the District. It was a runaway success with 40 cars participating, with our brethren, their family members & friends involved and everyone had an enjoyable time. From the proceeds collected by way of Entry fee, Advertisements, and more importantly contribution from brethren, donations to the tune of Rs 3, 22,500/-were made to the following:

(a) Shrishti Trust. Rs. 1,50,000/-

(b) District Grand Charity. Rs. 70,000/-

(c) Madras Freemasons Hall Trust. Rs. 20,000/-

(d) Lodge of Universal Charity Charitable Trust. Rs. 50,000/-

(e) 100 sticks to the Visually Challenged. Rs. 32,500/-

There were prizes galore and each and every participant went home with a prize.

During The Year Lodge Universal Charity Has Carried Out Charity Worth Rs 4,72,930/- as details given above.

The Lodge Of Universal Charity No 273 Charitable Trust

(a) During the meeting of the above trust held on 3rd May 2013, through a resolution, W.Bro Sunil Koliyot was elected as a Permanent Trustee in the vacancy that had arisen due to the demise of W. Bro. V.V.Venkatasubramanian, popularly known as VVV.

(b) Land located at Uthandi on ECR, measuring 3 grounds was donated to the Trust by Late W. Bro. VVV and during the meeting Rs.50, 000/- have been approved for the purpose of provision of peripheral fence and gate to the land.

Almoners Report

(c) W Bro V.V.Venkatasubraamanian, was called to the Grand Lodge Above on

4th March 2013.

(d) W Bro A E Mould, was called to the Grand Lodge Above on 29th Sep 2013 at Kolar who was member of our lodge earlier.

Dgl Meetings

As usual attendance of our Lodge was one of the highest in both the Annual Investiture Meeting at Chennai under the banner of Archibald Campbell Lodge No.4998 on 9th Feb 2012 and the Half Yearly Meeting at Coonoor under the banner of The Lodge Anchor of Hope No 1093 on 10th Aug 2012

Launching Of Lodge Web Site

W.Bro.Sukesh Menon launched the Lodge Website www.lodgeuc273.org on 18th Oct 2013. The web site was created by Bro. Arvind Gopalakrishnan on his own initiative.

Ladies’ Night

Ladies of the brethren of our Lodge were invited to the banquet at the installation of W Bro Ilango Raphael.

We had the Ladies Night, which is an annual event in our lodge, in the month of June at the Madras Gymkhana Club. It was a fun-filled evening.

Honours:

1. Grand Rank

(a) W.Bro.Sukesh Menon has been conferred Grand Rank of Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies by The United Grand Lodge of England

(a) District Grand Rank / Promotions

At the Annual Investiture Meeting, of the District Grand Lodge of Madras held at Chennai under the banner of the Lodge of Archibald Campbell No.4998 on 9th Feb 2013 the following brethren were honored with Active District Grand Ranks:

(b) Promotion

General

Perfect harmony and camaraderie prevail in our Lodge. Brethren from City lodges and from various recognized constitutions were present at some meetings and were reciprocally visited by our Brethren.

Recommendations:

The Permanent Committee of the Lodge of Universal Charity No 273 is pleased to present the Annual Report for the year ended 30th November 2012.

The year commenced with the Installation of W Bro Peter K Manavalan, as the W Master, into the Eastern Chair of this Ancient Lodge. The Lodge is set for a continuous line of aspiring Master Masons into this high office, and it is hoped that with the assistance and kindly advice of the Past Masters the high standards in administration, ritual working, and well ruling of the Lodge will remain consistent with the traditions set by our illustrious predecessors.

Memebership

The membership of the Lodge commenced with 48 Resident Members, 4 Non-resident Members and 2 Honorary Member. During the year there were 2 initiations, One death and 2 Resident members became Non-resident Members bringing the total membership at the end of the year to 53 (Resident 47 & Non-Resident 6) and 2 Honorary Members.

Labour

The practice of singing the Opening Hymn and Closing Ode is maintained and the National Anthem is rendered at the end of each meeting.

The Lodge met 10 times with an average attendance of 21. There were 2 initiations, 2 passing and 1 raising during the year. Portions of ritual working were phased out to junior brethren with past Masters ably assisting them, thereby maintaining the co-operative spirit which is the hall mark of this Lodge.

Masonic Education & Mentoring

Whenever, time permits, the senior brethren of our Lodge take up Masonic Education for the benefit of our younger brethren. Notably, W Bro D Rajasekaran gave a talk on ‘Rough & Perfect Ashler’ and W Bro Sukesh Menon gave an insight into the ‘Steps’ taken by the candidates to advance to the East.

The mentoring process was put into active practice as in the previous years which had benefitted the younger Brethren.

Charity

True to the name of our Lodge we do charity as much as possible. This year till now the following organizations, institutions and individuals had benefitted from our charity collections:

Almoners Report

Visiting The Elders

One of our past members W Bro A E Mould had moved to Kolar near Bangalore. W Master and brethren visited him recently and spent some time. Since he is not able to attend Lodge Meeting due to his health he had donated his Regalia to the Lodge.

W Bro A T Matthan who has moved to Bangalore a few years back and hence, could not attend meetings in Chennai. He continues to be a non-resident member of our Lodge. W Master with brethren visited him too and spent an evening at his residence.

W Bro C Subramaniam, past member of our Lodge, lives in Pondycherry. W Master along with few brethren paid a visit to him when in Pondy.

Over the last twelve months most brethren have been keeping in reasonably good health. There had been no report of any brethren having had any serious illness.

Obituary

W Bro Dr Shirz Kareem, Charity Steward, was called to the Grand Lodge Above on 18th April 2012 at a young age of 44 leaving the brethren and his family in shock and sorrow.

Dgl Meetings

As usual attendance of our Lodge was one of the highest in both the Annual Investiture Meeting at Chennai under the banner of The Lodge of Perfect Unanimity No 150 and the Half Yearly Meeting at Thanjavur under the banner of The Lodge Cauvery No 3848.

Visit To Malaysia & Sri Lanka

W Bro Peter K Manavalan WM, Bro Ilango Raphael SW, Bro Kurien Manavalan Chaplain, Bro Ravi Kesavan Secretary, W Bro Sukesh Menon, W Bro Sunil Koliyot and W Bro Muthu Singaram accompanied the RW the DGM on his visit to Malaysia to attend the Consecration of Lodge Idris No 9868 EC on the 8th of June and the dinner thereafter and the half yearly meeting of the District Grand Lodge of Eastern Archipelago and the Annual Convocation of The Dist Grand Chapter of Eastern Archipelago on the 9th and the banquet thereafter.

W Bro A C Rajasekaran Treasure, W Bro Sukesh Menon, W Bro Sunil Koliyot and W Bro Muthu Singaram accompanied the Asst. DGM W. Bro. Abdul Jifri who represented the R W the DGM at the Installation of W. Bro. Henry Malin Goonetileke as R W the District Grand Master & the Grand Superintendent for Sri Lanka by R W Deputy Grand Master R W Bro. Jonathan Spence on 21st July 2012.

Ladies’ Night

For the first time in our District, Ladies of the brethren of our Lodge were invited to the banquet at the installation of W Bro Peter K Manavalan.

We had the Ladies Night, which is an annual affair in our lodge, in the month of Sep at the Madras Cricket Club. It was a fun-filled evening.

Honours

At the Annual Investiture Meeting, of the District Grand Lodge of Madras held at Chennai under the banner of the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity on 11th Feb 2012 the following brethren were honoured with Active District Grand Ranks:

Active Ranks

W Bro D Rajasekaran - President, District Grand Charity

W Bro Sukesh Menon - District Grand Director of Ceremonies

W Bro Sunil Koliyot - District Grand Superintendent of Works

W. Bro. V. T. Kumaran - District Grand Steward (First Appointment)

General

Perfect harmony and camaraderie prevail in our Lodge. Brethren from City lodges and from various recognized constitutions were present at some meetings and were reciprocally visited by our Brethren.

The year commenced with the Installation of W Bro Alan Gordon Bartley, as the

W Master, into the Eastern Chair of this Ancient Lodge. The Lodge is set for a continuous line of aspiring Master Masons into this high office, and it is hoped that with the assistance and kindly advice of Past Masters the high standards in administration, ritual working, and well ruling of the Lodge will remain consistent with the traditions set by our illustrious predecessors.

Highlight of this year of our lodge was the hosting of DGL Meeting on 11th and 12th of Feb 2011.

On the occasion of hosting the DGL we had brought out a colorful souvenir with messages from the DGM and others. It also contained details and history of our Lodge. Surplus generated by the souvenir came in handy to a large extent for meeting the expenses of holding the DGL meet besides enabling contribution to worthy charities. We place on record the efforts of W Bro I Varkey in bringing out the souvenir.

On the 11th Feb, we hosted the Meeting of the Dist Grand Conclave in the forenoon. These were followed by Indian style lunch hosted by us. In the afternoon we had the meeting of Chitty Conclave and later Bar Dive which was well attended. Dinner was attended by the ladies as well and there was Western Music as entertainment which was enjoyed by all.

On the 12th Feb, the meetings were held at Hotel Residency Towers. The Annual Investiture Meetings of the District Grand Chapter and the District Grand Mark Master Masons were held in the forenoon and the District Grand Lodge in the evening. We had Chinese style lunch and Continental Dinner for the Banquet.

We were well appreciated for the impeccable arrangements including transport.

Membership

The membership of the Lodge commenced with 47 resident members, 3 non-resident members and one honorary member. During the year there were 1 initiation, 1 joining,

1 automatic cessation and 1 Honorary Member bringing the total membership at the end of the year to 51 (Resident 47 & Non-Resident 4) and 2 Honorary Members.

It was our pleasure to invite R W Bro K R N Menon as an Honorary Member soon after his demitting the office of the DGM and he gladly accepted our invitation.

Labour

The practice of singing the Opening Hymn and Closing Ode is maintained and the National Anthem is rendered at the end of each meeting.

The Lodge met 11 times with an average attendance of 23. There was 1 initiation, 1 passing and 1 raising during the year. Portions of ritual working were phased out to junior brethren with past Masters ably assisting them, thereby maintaining the co-operative spirit which is the hall mark of this Lodge.

Whenever, time permits, the senior brethren of our Lodge take up Masonic Education for the benefit of our younger brethren. Notably W Bro Sunil Koliyot and W Bro A C Patel had given talks on various topics.

In September, Bro Sanjay Mandaiker delivered a talk on ‘Symbolism of Nataraja and Masonry’ which was thought provoking.

In Oct we had invited W Bro T V Srinivasan, Dist Grand Orator to address us on ‘A Spiritual Journey from Square to Compass’. This was well received and there was a good deliberation after the address.

The mentoring process was put into active practice as in the previous years which had benefitted the younger Brethren.

True to the name of our Lodge we do charity as much as possible. This year till now the following organizations, institutions and individuals had benefitted from our charity collections:

Besides, from the surplus of collection for the DGL, we have made the following donations:

Madonna, Cochin –Rs 50,000/-
Vudhavum Karangal Samuganala thodar Kalvi Iyakkam, Pondy, -Rs 25,000/-
Arunodhaya, Chennai – Rs25,000/-
Vuyiroli, Chennai – Rs. 25,000/-
Jeevodaya, Chennai– Rs 25,000/- and
Uniform for poor students at St Ebba’s Girls High School – Rs 7425/-

We do have very senior brethren in our Lodge notably, W Bro V V Venkatasubramniam (affectionately known as W Bro VVV). At 95, he is the oldest member and the longest serving member of our Dist. Since he is unable to attend meetings regularly due to his health, a few of our brethren visited him in his house

Over the last twelve months most brethren have been keeping in reasonably good health. There had been no report of any brethren having had any serious illness.

A large number of brethren attended both the Annual and Half Yearly District Grand Meetings lead by the Worshipful Master.

Our lodge’s attendance at the Half Yearly meeting of the DGL at Trichy was one of the highest with about 29 brethren in attendance. This was a landmark meeting as we witnessed the installation of our new DGM, RW Bro Theo Devagnanam. We had also hosted a lunch to the visiting brethren from Malaysia and Sri Lanka who attended the DGL.

W Bro VVV had donated a piece of land to the lodge near ECR at Uthandi sometime back. We propose to put this land to use for the benefit of the Lodge. As a first step, we unveiled a tablet on 21st Aug 2011, which was followed by lunch. We also sponsored breakfast for the inmates of an orphanage close to this place.

In April this year 20 of our brethren visited Malaysia to celebrate the 50 years of Masonry of our W Bro I Varkey who is a past master (WM-1969) of Kinta Lodge No 3212 EC, Ipoh. We attended their installation meeting on 2nd April 2011 and in the meeting W Bro I Varkey was honoured by the RWDGM of Eastern Archipelago pinning the 50 year jewel on his lapel. Earlier, the brethren were received into the lodge with our W Master in attendance. During the banquet we exchanged gifts which included a beautiful plate from the host lodge and a Silver Salver from our Lodge with the names of the Brethren who made the trip etched.

Malayali Brethren of our lodge fondly known as ‘MALBROS’ hosted lunch ‘ONAM SADHYA’ on Sun, 25th Sep 2011. More than 50 attended and enjoyed the lunch which included the families too.

We had co-hosted the Madras Week Celebrations hosted by the DGL during the first week of Sep.

W Bro D Rajasekaran delivered a short talk on our Lodge and on the Ancient Punch Bowl with PowerPoint presentation to a rapt audience. This was also published in the ‘Madras Musings’ edited by the famous historian Mr S Muthiah.

Honours

At the Annual Investiture Meeting, of the District Grand Lodge of Madras held at Chennai under our banner on 12th Feb 2011 the following brethren were honoured with Past and Active District Grand Ranks:

W Bro I Varkey – Past District Junior Grand Warden
W Bro Sunil Koliyot – Past District Grand Cahplain

W Bro D Rajasekaran - President, District Grand Charity
W Bro Sukesh Menon - District Grand Director of Ceremonies
W Bro Sunil Koliyot - District Grand Superintendent of Works
W Bro V S Vikram - Dist Grand Deputy Director of Ceremonies
W Bro A C Rajasekaran – Dist Grand Std Bearer

General

Perfect harmony and camaraderie prevail in our Lodge. Brethren from City lodges and from various recognized constitutions were present at some meetings and were reciprocally visited by our Brethren.