VOL - I I
MAY 2022
ISSUE - 12
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
Brethren, another year draws to a close; May marks the home run of the second volume, caps two years in the life of The 19. With the inspiration of the brethren, of the doyens as well as of the relatively young, the active participation of the brethren in divers manners, the newsletter has completed another smooth annual spell in its relatively new journey. Thanks go especially to RW Bro Thapar for his encouragement and his ensuring that funds – or, the shortage of it — do not hobble its publication, to RW Bro David whose incisive and, at once, witty comments have regaled readers continually these two years, to Bro Bapooji who has unfailingly appreciated each publication, to Bro Sudip Datta, whose critiques are a sheer delight to read and to Bro Surajit Datta, whose at times scathing but thoroughly well-meaning observations have been eye-openers to these columns.
Intimately involved in the publication has been Bro Gyanendra Narain Singh, who has not just provided valuable inputs on the events of the District but has taken time off to arrange the lay-out and the cropping of the pictures. It is especially appreciated in the light of the fact that he has never once shied away in these last four months, even with his hands brimming over with two nearly back-to-back Quarterly Communications and his daughter’s wedding, this in addition to running a District weighed down by litigations and their associated stinging nettles which are a continual vexation. Young Kousik Roy, responsible for the proper up-loading of the issues, has never once turned down requests for the last-minute edits, even at unearthly hours. One could almost see him getting up sandy-eyed in the middle of his sleep to accommodate the requests of a demanding editor. It would be uncharitable not to mention Ms Chetnaa Karnani, whose timely reminders have ensured a seamless line of publications and who, on an earlier occasion, had sportingly laughed off a faux pas committed by the undersigned.
The contributors form the backbone of any publication. One name comes first to mind, Bro Anil Vaswani’s. He has supported The19 with article after article. Eminently delectable have been the features of Bros Sudip Datta, Kaushik Chowdhury, Amit Ukil, Debjyoti Basu, Abhiroop Sengupta and Arijit Sen.
THANK YOU ALL, DEAR LADY AND GENTLEMEN.
Coming to the month under reportage, a baking April swept away the charming weather of March with nary a sign of the nor’westers that gust in intermittent relief at this time from the blistering 40 degrees. The frenzy of the scrum of the Lodges flanking the aisle for the one air-conditioned Temple soared in consonance with the surge of the mercury in the capillary. Frayed tempers? Well, um …
Editor
QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION
In pleasant contrast was the bonhomie generated around the visit to Asansol. The occasion: the Quarterly Communication of the District, held on Saturday, the 23rd of the month. That agreeableness stretched in no mean measure to the surprise occasioned by Bro Ukil’s arrival at 19 before everyone else that morning. On display, yet again, were the organisational skills of, among others, Bros Singh, Subir Datta and young Sandeep Mukherjee. The two-day trip ran just as smoothly as the 22-seater transporting the members to the rust belt that was once a boom town dotted with industries and a veritable pride of Bengal, — and to its twin city, Kulti, where too Freemasonry boasts a Lodge, Pioneer, across the lane from a nine-hole link that had evidently seen more lush days under the stewardship of the famed Mukherjee pere-fils duo. IISCO was just as sprawling and bristling as the ill-fated Maruiopol steel-plant, that is presently in the news as a symbol of the tenacious defiance of a grossly out-manned, out-machined Ukraine against Goliath, Russia
The highlight of the Meeting was the District Grand Master’s address where he dwelt on the urgent need to Initiate new members – an advice followed up with remarkable promptitude by the Asansolites with the prospect, that shone in its probability of success, of roping in the owners of Hotel Ambassador Royal and Copper Handi, a move that is certain to ensure five-star lodging and lip-smacking fares at greatly discounted rates for visiting Masons. Bro Dev also stressed upon the imperative to better manage the finances of the two mofussil Lodges and commended the grit of the members in successfully contending with, – one draws analogy with that Philistine giant once again, — Eastern Railway. His gratitude for the hospitality of Lodge Pioneer was unstinted. So, for that matter, was that of the entire Kolkata contingent, these columns aver. In consideration of the 45 degrees raging on the Celsius scale, Bro Dev acquiesced – readily is an adverb that would be a contradiction in terms – to the general demand for shirtsleeves, his frown at such deshabille made evident in his own attire.
DBGP MEETING
Among the issues discussed at the meeting on the 27th were those of a certain Lodge not meeting and another not paying UGLE dues and the building fund. It was resolved that the President, accompanied by a few members, would meet the concerned Secretaries and Masters in an attempt to resolve the impasse. In a not unrelated context, it was decided to clear an ambiguity that contribution to the building fund provided occasion for discretion of the Lodges.
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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.