In the main shrine – one of three – at the Freemasons’ Hall in Egmore, Tien Manoharan stands, his frame stretched to his full height, in front of a sacred table and chair. It’s March 4, and after the planet Earth has nearly completed a rotation on its axis (each indicating a day)—a language Freemason will be at home—right behind that table and standing in that high-back chair. It will be his, with the reins of the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India (RGLSI).
A casual sweep of the eye across this vast hall – which the masons call their main temple – catches objects that together form an otherworldly vocabulary that remains impenetrable and alluring at the same time.
Fortunately, the Masons reveal the secret to this reporter, just as they did to several others who visited the hall later that day.
There are two other table-highback chair combos across the room, one belonging to a senior warden and another one to a junior warden. On each table lies a square stone, so neatly cut that it has risen to the dignity of being called an ashlar, which arouses curiosity.
The ash on the senior warden’s table is velvety-smooth, suggesting refinement and, at a deeper level, a high mark in progress toward excellence.
The ash on the junior warden’s desk is rough to the touch, suggesting a journey that has more ground to cover.
smooth ash
In every direction, a symbolism waits to be uncovered. The symbols are derived from objects (largely measuring instruments for geometry common to their existence) handled in masonry and construction, a meter associated with the origin of the movement.
These tools – which include a plumb and a level (similar to a plumb but employed in the measurement of surfaces that are horizontal) – are pressed into service as analogies that carry universal and metaphysical truths in their bowels.
An oversized, shiny letter “G” hangs from the ceiling. Manoharan, who will be installed as the Regional Grand Master of the RGLSI on March 11, explains that it represents the “Great Geometric of the Universe” – a term the Freemasons use for God.
Almost everything found in the hall – reportedly made of teak wood chairs and tables – has withstood innumerable summers. Two wooden boxes are nailed to a table, and they are offering boxes that are passed around the hall after a meeting.
The temple gate is flanked by two ornamental metal pillars which reportedly came as a gift from “Masons from South India”.
TN Manoharan to be installed as Regional Grand Master on March 11
The Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India (RGLSI) covers five states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – and also the union territory of Puducherry. According to a press release, there are 177 lodges (as the Freemasons call their clubs) in this surface area.
On March 11, 2023, the present Regional Grand Master, Right Worshipful Bro. VG Madhusudan will hand over the charge to the right wing brother. TN Manoharan, who will take over as Regional Grand Master of RGLSI for a period of three years, the release notes.
More than 1,500 masons from across the region and outside will participate in the annual investiture at the Chennai Trade Centre, the release said. Manoharan is a Chartered Accountant by profession and a Padma Shri awardee, known for his contribution towards the revival of Satyam Computers Limited. Presently, he is an Independent Director and Part-time Chairman in IDBI Bank.
Three permanent projects on the drawing board
A week before he is installed as the Regional Grand Master of the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India (RGLSI), TN Manoharan told The Hindu that he will forego his three-year term for the Freemason movement in South India.
He said that at the Regional Grand Lodge level, his vision is to establish three permanent projects, one for each year, in addition to running regular projects that come up depending on needs and demands.
Manoharan explains: “I want to set up a foundation for spastic children so that every year the leadership continuously creates a fund. The second sustainable project is about creating an organization that will provide assistance to the blind in collaboration with organizations that are already working for their welfare with an aim to make them employable. The third permanent project is to provide funds for higher education of meritorious students from underprivileged backgrounds who have to discontinue schooling due to lack of financial resources at home.”
young at 163
Two oversized small books stand proudly on a long table. Washed in yellow, the emeralds bear the unmistakable look of age. They do however come out of a Fourdrinier machine with the strength of a paper, thanks to a restoration exercise that snuffed them out. One hundred and sixty-three years old, these minute books carry the thoughts and deliberations of many Freemasons’ meetings through the decades.