R W Bro Nilakanta Krishnan, October 5, 2026
It was a boring Sunday evening in Bangalore,
So I asked my elder brother, “What’s in store?”
“A merry night of drinking for me,
With my biker buddies three!”
“Would you like to join us for a drink?”
“Yes, absolutely, there’s nothing left to think!”
So one drink, two drinks, Scotch Whiskey three,
We finished quite late and I got along free.
When one of them bikers decided to leave,
He put on his jacket and pulled out his keys.
“Bro, I know that symbol your jacket has etched!”
“It’s a square and compass buddy, from Freemasonry its fetched.”
I’ve seen that symbol in my father’s tiny books
Secretly locked away where nobody looks.
I tried to read them but nothing was clear,
Except dots, dashes and a secret word here.
“I should like to be a Freemason too!”
“Well then, I’ll call you for an interview.”
The next week a big smiling man I met,
He looked like Santa, but without the red.
“Do you believe in God” he interrogated.
“My love for God is unabated!”
“Can you afford our yearly fee?”
I said “I can” smiling with glee.
So I then went to the temple, black suit and all,
In 2012, on the third Tuesday of Jan if I recall.
“You’re our first initiate” chuckled an octogenarian,
As I was being blindfolded by the “deacon”.
Once the temple doors unopened for me,
My experience was extraordinary.
I leave it at that and end this text,
Only a mason will know what happens next.
Mysterious ancient secrets I was made privy to,
And so many things I never knew.
I’m only glad I took the call,
That boring Sunday evening to join them all!
Author’s note: This poem was written in fond memory of my Initiation and how I came to join Lodge Al-Ameen 1412 SC in 2012. It features my elder brother, Bro RV Venkataramana (Lodge Ashoka GLI), biker Bro Rohit Verma (Jr Deacon, Lodge Al-Ameen), my father Bro V Ravichandran (Lodge Ashoka GLI), interviewer Bro Zarir Bativala (Lodge Al-Ameen) and octogenarian mason Bro Parvez Bativala (Lodge Al-Ameen).