“O Almighty Architect, except thy build our house, we labour in vain to build it.”
“O Mighty Preserver, unless thee watch the city the soldier waketh but in vain”
“O Great Architect Divine, I Thank thee for this blessing of thine”

M.W. The Grand Master M.W.Bro.Capt.Dr.Balaram Biswakumar OSM, M.W.The PGMs’ , My Predecessor . R.W.Bro.Varnasi Narsimham, R.W. The R.G.M of W. I. R.W.Bro. Rajeev Ramakrishna Khandelwal, R.W.The RGM of N.I. RW Bro.Krishna Kumar Gautam, R.W.The RGM of E.I. RWBro. Raja Mookerjee , RW. Bro. K.K.Varma, DyDGM & representative of the DGM of the DGL Madras. RW The PRGM’s,R.W. Bro.HH Marthanda Varma,RW Brethren, VW Brethren, W. Brethren, Brethren, Ladies & Gentlemen.

I stand before you today, a most humbled and privileged brother, a brother who started his Masonic journey at the Land’s end of this Great country , in a Lodge named after the great Indian who spread the message of Universal brotherhood to our shores and beyond, Bro. Narendra Dutta, who later came to be known as Swami Vivekanada.

In a fraternity where humility is the essence, I thank each and every brother, for touching my life with that brotherly love and affection, which I strongly believe has elevated me to this honourable position.

The greatest and dearest of them all, our beloved, MW The Grand Master, MW Bro.Capt. Dr. Balaram Biswakumar, who always considered me fit to hold the wand or the gavel when he reigns. Sir, I thank you for installing me to this high office in this region, and I pledge my loyalty and support to you.

To my beloved PGM’s, M.WBro.Gautam R.Divan, HariPershad Mathur, Dillip Dwarakadas Udeshi, Arun Chintopath & Justice Devinder Gupta, I offer my sincere thanks for the presence and seek their continual blessings, which has been there always for me.

I thank the Regional Grand Masters RW Rajeev Khandelwal, R.W.Bro. K.K.Gautam and R.W.Raja Moojeerjee for their presence and also RW Bro. K.K. Varma the representative of the DGM of DGL of Madras. I thank RW Bro Sisir Ghosh the IPRGM of EI who laid down office just a fortnight ago for being with me this evening. Thank HH.

My predecessor RW Bro.Varnasi Narasimham, has always been of great support and guidance to me. I am really privileged and happy that I succeed him. I am sure he will be there, to guide me and direct me in the smooth function of my office.

The presence of our Ladies and non masons for the installation meeting has really enhanced the charm and pomp of the ceremony. For me it has been a very solemn occasion when my mother, my wife and my children could witness this great moment in my life.

I thank all the senior brethren of our fraternity who really made this happen. By this gesture we are really enhancing our position of respect amidst the society from where we come from. Our families are sure proud that we are Freemasons. Proud, that we belong to an ancient and respectable institution, embracing individuals of every nation, of every religion, and of every condition in life. That, wealth, power and talents are not necessary to the person of a Freemason, but an unblemished character and a virtuous conduct.

Freemasonry has no dogma or theology. It offers no sacraments. It teaches that it is important for every man to have a religion of his own choice and to be faithful to it in thought and action. As a result, we men of different religions meet in fellowship and brotherhood under the fatherhood of God. A good Mason is made even more faithful to the tenets of his faith, by his membership in the Lodge.

Freemasonry is, working side by side with others toward a common goal and for the common good. It unites men, who otherwise would never have met, and brings them together, in an atmosphere of genuine support and affection. It is what happens in the heart and in the mind, when men labour together to succeed, or even to fail, in shared aspirations. It is the admiration and respect of one man for another, not for material accumulation, but for strength of moral character and selfless service. It is, holding oneself up to an ideal, even knowing that our human frailties make it impossible to achieve the ideal. Freemasonry is a process by which a man comes to know himself.

Today Freemasons all over the World have felt the need to make it known what Freemasonry really stands for. We have made good progress and of course our Grand Lodge has really made great strides in rising up to the need of our community in times of calamities and distress. Community and religious leaders have started coming out in the open to praise the good work done by us.

Brethren, ..but this is the time that we need more caution. I would now, like to repeat an often told story about a Mason who always wore his Masonic ring and lapel pin, when in public. On some occasions, he rode the bus from his home to the downtown area. On one such trip and when he sat down, he discovered that the conductor had accidentally given him a few coins in excess as change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, whether he should give the extra coins back, as it would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, after all it's only a few coins; who would worry about this little amount. The transport company gets too much fare and they will never miss it. Accept it as a ‘gift from God' and keep quiet. When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the excess coins to the conductor and said, "Here, you gave me too much change."The conductor with a smile replied, "I noticed your Masonic ring and lapel pin. I have been thinking lately about asking a Mason how to join. I just wanted to see, what you would do, if I gave you some excess change. You passed the test. Can you , tell me, how to become a Mason?"

When the Mason stepped off the bus, he said a silent prayer, "Oh God, Great Architect of the Universe, I almost sold you and my beloved Masons out, for a few coins."

Our actions are the only Masonic creed some will ever see. This really is, almost, a scary example, of how people watch us as Masons and may put us to the test, even without us realizing it! Always be diligent, whether it is at work, the theatre, restaurant, grocery store, or just driving in traffic.

Remember, whether it is a lapel pin, a ring, or an emblem on the car, you carry the name of our great fraternity on your shoulders whenever you call yourself a Mason. You never can tell who might be watching!

Brethren, one question, that we as a fraternity are facing is, how to maintain the interest of our newer members. This is by no means a new question or a new problem. Even if you look back at the minutes of Masonic Lodge meetings from over a hundred years ago, show that this is a challenge faced by every generation of Freemasons. Unfortunately, that same look back shows that, what worked in the past will not necessarily work now. Society changes and we have to change along with it, if we are to remain pertinent, to the members of our Craft.

With this view I have selected a dynamic team of brethren from the region who I believe, will be ready to assist me, in bringing about some action and dynamism to the goals every Lodge is expected to achieve. I seek the cooperation of every brother of the region in the programs and positive changes that have been planned.

One of the programs which we plan to introduce this year is the mentoring program. In fact this suggestion has come from one of the new ARGM’s. By this program we aim to,
1. Improve Attendance in Lodges.
2. Continuing involvement of Past Masters.
3. Integration of New Masons into the Fraternity
4. Internalizing of Masonic Practices into the each coming generation.
5. Brotherhood beyond the Lodge.
6. Growth of the higher degrees.
7. Improve standards of working by inter Lodge visitations.

Brethren, let us give this a try. I am sure there will be rewards for us all. We all know that it is the hope of reward that sweetens labour.

Another area where we wish to bring about changes is in the first stage of our RWC’s, mainly aimed at relieving the stress and unnecessary tensions surmounting it and providing the WM’s and brethren, more time to spare for other activities for the growth of masonry in general and their Lodges in particular. The details of this will be communicated later.

I have requested the Asst. RGM’s to organize as many seminars & workshops for the betterment of ritual working and also for assisting brethren in making steady advancement in Masonic knowledge.

At least two health care camps for the benefit of our own brethren will be organized area wise or city wise, to keep of them updated of their health status.

But brethren, the major program for my three year tenure is, to meet and to shake hands, with every brother of this region. How can I be a stranger to my own brethren? If I can at least achieve 80 %, I would have met more than 6000 brethren. I am confident brethren that I can easily achieve this, if you are all ready to meet me on the level. Let us not forget that we are always to unite under the Grand design of being Happy and communicate happiness.

Charity, we know is the distinguishing character of every Freemason and true to it, this morning MW The Grand Master, inaugurated charity projects totaling to nearly 10lakhs. We presented a 12 seater Tata Winger vehicle to a Palliative care organization called Pallium India , which comprises of a team of Doctors and volunteers who visit homes of terminally ill cancer patients, especially young patients and provide them TLC, tender loving care. We also presented a cheque for Rs.3.5 lakhs to the RCC Trivandrum, the cost of a pay ward room. These projects were made possible by the contribution of many large hearted brethren from all over our region and I thank each one, very specially for this kind gesture. A charity bazaar was successfully organized by our ladies to raise fund for charities.

The brethren of our region have already extended their support for the Jyotirgamaya project. The first project was already inaugurated on the 9th of Feb. near Vishakapatnam. MW The GM sir, We the brethren of the Southern region are with you in this laudable project and will render all support and assistance in seeing its successful completion.

The organizing committee of the RGL meeet led by RW Bro. M Ramaswamy Iyer and V.W.Bro. Ravikumar ably assisted by the all brethren of Trivandrum and Kanyakumari and their ladies have worked untiringly for the last two months to make your visit to this God’s Own Country comfortable and memorable. I thank them for the excellent work done.

I once again thank each one of your for your presence, very specially the brethren from the other regions and also the two brethren from Germany, who have travelled long distances to be with me at this very memorable occasion.

As I begin my sojourn as the RGM of SI this evening, I thank my wife Premi for her constant support and prayers. If am, what I am, this day in my life, it is only because of her.

Thank you dear brethren.