Brief History of Lodge Royal Jubilee No 742(S.C) 1886-2019
Lodge Royal Jubilee No 742(S.C) was duly constituted under a Provincial Warrant granted by the
then Most Worshipful the Grand Master of All Scotish Free Masonry in India, Most wor. Bro. Sir Henry Morland A.L. It was regularly opened in the Masonic Hall, Solapur on 29th December, 1886. Right Worshipful Master Bro Khan Bahadur Darasha R.Chichgar, the then Substitute Grand Master, Assisted by his Grand Lodge Office Bearers and other Past Masters for opening the Lodge Royal Jubilee No 742(S.C.).
The warrant was subsequently confirmed under a charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland on 3rd February, 1887 A.D. and 5891 A.L.
At the time the Lodge had no building of its own and meetings of the Lodge were held in the bungalow of the Late Bro. N.A. Boyce situated in the forest area which was isolated from the city. The Lodge continued to hold its meetings in this bungalow till 1895. Later on for want of regular local members the Lodge went in abeyance in 1895. On 19th December, 1900 the Lodge was resuscitated under a dispensation granted by the Grand Master Depute Bro. Dr. J. Pollen with his office bearers namely.
| Bro. R.P. Carreras | Right Worshipful Master |
| Bro. A.F. Meconochie, I.C.S | Senior Warden |
| Bro. Pestonji Edulji | Junior Warden |
| Bro. Dr. D.W. Sabja | Secretary |
After this resuscitation the meeting of the Lodge were held in the building called ‘Sidi Bungalow’ belonging to Bro. N.F, Boyce, who later became the Right Worshipful Master of the Lodge. At that time Bro. A.F. Meconochie, I.C.S. was the Collector of Solapur District gave great impetus to this Lodge. Since that time i.e. from 1900 onwards the meetings of the Lodge continued to be held regularly. However it was found very embarrassingly to hold meetings in this private bungalow, though it must be admitted that Bro. N.F. Boyce kept his bungalow entirely at the disposal of Lodge.
The brethren of the Lodge, therefore, decided to have an independent building with temple & dinning hall of their own. As the Collector, Railway Officials and other stalwarts were very much involved in the Lodge, the District Collectorate was approached and an open plot was obtained from the government, On this plot the present building was constructed in the year 1913 at an approximate cost of 10,000/- after getting the required permission from the G.L.A.S.F.I., Bro. G.W. Hatch, I.C.S., the Collector of the Solapur. With his Inspiration and Assistance the building was constructed. This building was named as “Hatch Free Masonic Hall” and a live portrait is hung in the hall to commemorate his memory. This building was later consecrated 24th March 1913 by Right Worshipful Master Bro. W.E. Jennings, I.M. On this occasion a stone was laid at the entrance of the Lodge giving the description as
“To the glory of the most high this building was consecrated on 24th March 1913 by Right Worshipful Bro. Lt. col. We. Jennings, I.M.S., P.G.D.M.A.S.F.I. as the habitation of Lodge Royal Jubilee No. 742 S.C., Solapur.”
Another tablet was fixed at the entrance of the Lodge giving names of the important office bearers of the Lodge when it was consecrated. The description of the tablet is as below.
| Bro. G.W. Hatch | Right Worshipful Master |
| Bro. S. Cadumbi | Senior Warden |
| Bro. H. M. Cohla | Junior Warden |
| Bro. P.A. Nagarwalla | Treasurer |
| Bro J.S. Jassawalla | Secretary |
The brethren of the Lodge are proud to mention that Bro. G.W. Hatch, I.C.S., P.M. was honorary member till his death. Thereafter the meeting of the Lodge were held in the new building and the records show that the Lodge gained popularity during the time when Bro. A. H. A. Simcox was the Right Worshipful Master till 1928-29. After that there was decline in the membership of the Lodge upto the year 1932. In the Year 1932 Bro. I. H. Taunton came here as Collector and accepted to join the Lodge on request of some brethren like Bro. A.P. Chinoy, Bro. Kotwal and others. In 1933 Bro. I.H.Taunton was elected to the Eastern Chair. Since then there has been continues prosperitory of the Lodge and membership has gone on increasing. The lodge acquired a genuine popularity in the city.
At about this time i.e in the year 1932 the Lodge building has no compound wall of its own. Hence an extension of open space was secured from the collector and Right Worshipful Master Bro. B.V. Sathe borne the major portion of the exencses of the compound wall which is in existence at present.
On completion of 50 Years of the foundation of the Lodge, the brethren celebrated the Golden Jubilee on 29th December 1936 with great pomp. Invitations were sent to all the Lodges in the country and deputation from the Grand Lodge graced the occasion.
Thereafter from time the Lodge gained the popularity and membership were increased, it was found that the old building do not provide sufficient accommodation. Hence it was thought necessary to enlarge the existing building.
The Late Bro. M. H. Variawa, who was then the Right Worshipful Master of the Lodge, got the support of all the brethren for the proposed extension and was decided to undertake the work. Almost all the brethren on the Roll Contributed for the work but special mention must be made of the contribution made by Bro. R.N. Boyce who paid 1,000/-. The work of extension was undertaken by Bro. P.B. Alandkar, who did the same at cost price without any profits to himself. Thus the brethren of the Lodge completed the project of construction of the Lodge Hall and the temple above which has now become spacious enough.
On 26th June 1954 two of the members of the Lodge namely Bro. Sorabji Eruchshaw,P.H., Dy. G.M. and Bro. Diwan Bahadur N.C. Limaye, C.B.E., P.H., Dy.G.M. has been awarded by the Grand Lodge of Scotland the distinguished service membership.
On completion of 75 years of the foundation of this Lodge the brethren celebrated the Platinum Jubilee in the year 1961 with Grand ceremonies.
Thereafter on completion of 100 years of service of the Lodge, a grand ceremony was conducted in the year 1986. The Lodge building was renovated fully and new look was given to it. A greater insistence on excellence in ritual working and better attendance have raised the tone of the Lodge. On this great occasion the most Senior brethren Bro. Satappa Chavan was elected to the Eastern Chair for second time. Bro. Sorabji Eruchshaw, Bro . S.M. Chavan and Bro. Sardar Deshmukh were honored on completion of more than 50 years of unbroken membership of the Lodge.
Now the Lodge Royal Jubilee No. 742(S.C.) has completed 125 years of service. After the Platinum Jubilee, in last 25 years membership of the Lodge is increased by initiating 24 members from time to time. In the year 2005 under the leadership of Bro. R.S. Hegde, then R.W.M., a history is made by admitting 11 members. From the year 2001 when Bro. P.D. Aherkar was Right Worshipful Master, reading of informative articles about freemasonry started in regular meeting. Singing of National Anthem was also started after the closing hymn.
The Lodge conducts ne committee meeting and one regular meeting every month. Every Year a family get together function is conducted. In this function all brethren with spouse and children participate and play different games and enjoy the food in the evening. In every regular meeting Masonic Information is given by way of lecturers, discussion and video clips. In providing Masonic information and video clips Bro. S.B. Dantkale takes effort in searching and downloading through internet. The brethren regularly visit other Lodges on various occasion and in past visited Lodges Hyderabad, Belgum,Secundrabad,Lonawala and Pune. It is very proud to mention that Bro. B.B. Mulay attended regular meeting of the Lodge in U.S.A. and interacted the Lodge activities.
The brethren also regularly goes to picnic and visited Amba ghat,Kishkindha,Panhala and other places.
It may be mentioned here that formerly this Lodge was not working the Mark Master Mason Degree. But in the year 1935 the deputation from the Grand Lodge came here with the necessary furniture, aprons and jewels and permission was given to work the Mark Master Mason Degree and a chapter was opened under the name as Royal Arch Chapter Ganesh Gavankar No 787(S.C.). Since then this degree was worked at intervals most of brethren of this Lodge became Mark Master Masons. Thereafter unfortunately for some other reasons the said chapter went in abeyance till the year 2009. Thereafter with sincere efforts of Bro. H.S. Bubne, Bro. B.B. Mulay, Bro. S.B.Dantkale and other members of chapter, the said chapter was resuscitated. For this purpose old furniture was renovated and some new furniture was made to fulfill the requirement of the chapter. And thereafter the chapter is growing well till today.
In the year 1999 when Bro. Rajendra Gandi was Right Worshipful Master, a new sanitation block was constructed.
In the Year 2006 and 2007 Bro. H.S. Bubne and Bro. S.V. Khamitkar took extreme efforts for the renovation of the present building by changing the floors, water proofing, electrification and many other work. A new borewell was drilled and a submersible pump was installed to stop the scarcity of the water. For drinking water aqua guard was installed and a refrigerator was purchased for preservation of necessities. A kitchen platform was constructed and required amenities and utensils are provided for refreshment to the brethren. The ground fill work was carried out for leveling to make into the use. The brethren of the Lodge regularly do the charity from time to time and helped poor and orphan girls of Shivlal Shah Pratishtan and B.C.Girls Hostel. A sound system was given to B.C. Girls Hostel. Similar Helps was also given to blind school.
In the year 2010 Bro. Zubin Sam Amaria took over the charge of Right Woshipful Master. With his efforts though there was no addition into the membership, there was 100% retention. In the year 18 brethren attended the District Half Yearly Communication Meeting at Hyderabad. A booklet on Synonyms in Freemasonry was published with the efforts of Bro. Harshvardhan Bubne.
A joint project with Rotary Club of Solapur was undertaken for beautification of two islands in the Lodge compound.
Taking into consideration the vast experience of organizing events, Bro. Zubin Sam Amaria was once again imposed the responsibility of the Eastern Chair for the year 2011 being 125th Anniversary year of the Lodge. This is first time in the history of the Lodge with kind permission of the most District Grand Master, District Half Yearly Communication Meeting is covened at Solapur. This year our Lodge distributed Food Packets in the Polio camp to Voluteers, old clothes were collected from Brethren and their family members and distributed to the poor and needy.
And now today on 11th June 2011 under the leadership of Rt. Wor. Master Bro. Zubin Sam Amaria and with kind efforts of Bro.Harshvardhan Bubne, Bro. Shirish Dantkale, Bro. Bharat Mulay and many others a grand celebration of 125th year of the service of the Lodge is being performed. The most District Grand Master Bro. Aspi Byramjee, the most immediate Past District Grand Master Bro. Bomi Mehta, the District Grand Secretory Bro. R.N. Ponawalla alongwith Right Worshipful Masters of 10 Lodges and 60 brethrens alongwith their spouse are attending the function.
A souvenir is being published on this occasion to commemorate the event.
All brethren of the Lodge have contributed monetarily and physically a great deal for this mega event to mention names of few brethren would be improper. Since spouses of the brethren are attending this function, the spouses of host brethren have taken responsibility to entertain them during the spare time. After the meeting the family get togather is being arranged with excellent Ghazal programme. In the last but not least it must be noted that Bro. P.D. Aherkar has taken efforts in collecting the information and Drafting this history of the Lodge.
The Lodge in the course of years has built up invincible bonds of brotherhood and is notable for its harmony, peace and fraternity. There is a great sense of solidarity among the brethren. It will be our constant endeavor to see that the hundred and twenty-fifth year old Lodge is kept strong and dynamic promoting all the great ideals of free masonry with blessings of the Great Architect of the Universe.