VOL - I I
APRIL 2022
ISSUE - 10
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
The scare that was January, remitted somewhat in the following month. Omicron, notorious more for its communicability than for its viciousness, has been a squib that has failed to impress, the overcautious Jeremiahs’ portent of a third wave notwithstanding. More than the body-bags that its two earlier parlous manifestations had been dreaded for, this mutant could generally be contended with a regimen of paracetamols. More often than not, it has been an ephemeral irritant, one that the afflicted has taken in his unfaltering stride. Aided to a not inconsiderable extent by the prophylactics administered on a sweeping scale across the breadth of the country. This confidence reflected in the general opening up of 19. The meetings, mostly election and Installation, that had been put on hold in December and January, cascaded into a scramble in February. More dispensations were dispensed with in one month than resorted to in an entire year. The resultant confusion, whether two meetings could be held in a month, whether it gave the Principal Officers a full year’s tenure, a scrum for the most sought after days for the meetings – usually Fridays and Saturdays – were matters that evoked animated discussions, relief from scratchy throats sought initially with cup after infused cup of tea and later, as the sun sank beyond the silhouette of concrete skyline, — over the yardarm, more pertinently – to signal the switchover to glass after besotted glass of eau-de-vie.
If at the expense of digression, one cannot help but remark the similarities of the two pick-me-ups. The single malt compares with leaves from a particular garden; the blended, on the other hand, — and as the name signifies, a rectification from divers distilleries — is not wholly dissimilar to a meld of the Darjeeling flavour and the Assam liquor. Would a connoisseur from the United Dooars Lodge, endowed with gustative proficiency, care to discourse on this? The name of a certain Bro David springs to mind. One has just to browse his TALES FROM AN OLD PLANTERS DIARY to estimate how captivating the talk would be. Or Bro Conrad Dennis with his PERSONALI TEAS acumen, for that matter.
Before March could ebb out its vernal gratification, Lodge Kathmandu of Nepal organised what they chose to baptise, with just the right mix of the highfalutin and the appropriate, blended — the word pops up with tedious monotony — with a hint of, to resort to a euphemistic alternative, borrowal, Masonic Premier League. The report, by Bro Arijit Sen, has all the elements of the white-knuckle excitement that the event itself unfolded over the evening. Critics of these columns would be unsparing should they, — the columns, not the critics — fail to commend the felicity of the pen Bro Sen wields. Pad up then, brethren, — and do not forget the humble, inconspicuous guard against the spiteful body-line — and savour the account.
Editor
INAUGURAL MASONIC PREMIER LEAGUE BRINGS BRETHREN TOGETHER.
Bro Arijit Sen (Lodge Kathmandu of Nepal)
On Sunday 13th March 2022, the Masonic community came together for the first ever Masonic Premier League – a tennis ball cricket tournament, organized by Lodge Kathmandu of Nepal (LKON). As winter was on its way out, and summer was sneakily creeping in, we thought this would be the perfect time to organize an outdoor event to engage and entertain our Masonic brethren before the weather became unforgiving. After working out the finer details, we sent out invitations to our brethren at both UGLE and GLI. The response was overwhelming, as we had 40+ registrations in a matter of days.
Closer to the date of the event, we organized a team meet and conducted a lottery for the remaining players, since Mount Everest Lebong Lodge (MELL), led by Bro. Bharat, and LKON, led by Bro. Indrava had decided to field their own Lodge teams. The other two teams were Silver Trowels, led by Bro. Subir, and Seven Wonders, led by Bro. Abhijit.
The extravaganza began at 3:30pm at Turf XL, Kolkata’s largest turf field, near New Alipore. It was a sight to behold, as dozens of our brethren showed up at the venue in their colourful gear, raring to go.
MELL, looking intimidating in their all-black gear, took on Silver Trowels (resplendent in white) in the opening match. After a dominating performance (winning by 60 runs!) by MELL, the stage was set for LKON (in blue) taking on Seven Wonders (wearing vibrant red). LKON chased down to 78 in 6 overs to make it to the finals.
By this time, the sumptuous refreshments had arrived, and the spectators took turns taking up commentating duties to spice things up! The cheering from the non-playing spectators even drowned out the sound of the matches on the other turf fields! For this, we must thank Bro. Ariff who provided the sound system and did double duty as a resident DJ!
The match for 3rd place was a very close encounter between the Seven Wonders and Silver Trowels, with the former winning by a small margin of 10 runs!
The finals got off to a flier, with MELL scoring 78 in their 6 overs. LKON got off to shaky start but recovered to score a respectable 72, falling short by 6 runs in a thriller of a final. With this, the almighty Mount Everest Lebong were crowned the champions of the inaugural Masonic Premier League. The individual awards went to Bro. Rajarshi Nag of The Federation Lodge for Best Batsman and Bro. Gaurang Ganeriwala of MELL for Best Bowler.
Overall, this event was all about the Masonic spirit – coming together with friends and having a good time. The fraternal spirit shone through, despite the competitiveness! I must thank everyone for taking the time to attend – octogenarian Bro Sudip Dutta, despite his indifferent health, had stayed the length of the evening to cheer us along — and participate, and of course my co-organizers Bros. Anil, Indrava and Gaurav. WM Bro. Sandeep deserves special mention for allowing us complete freedom to organize an event of this scale. They were a delight to work with.
We hope to make this an annual event and look forward to everyone’s participation and support to make it bigger and better in the coming years!
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EDITOR: Amit Dutt
Mobile: +91 98312 23230, E-mail : a_k_dutt_06@yahoo.com
DISTRICT GRAND SECRETARY: Gyanendra Narain Singh
Mobile: +919230613338, 9903033599, E-mail : dgsofbengalfm@gmail.com
Freemasons’ Hall, 19, Park Street, Kolkata – 700 016, West Bengal, India.