‘The Mother Lodge’

    

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It’s Mother’s Day here in the United States, so I thought I’d share with you Bro. Rudyard Kipling’s “The Mother Lodge.” (Copied and pasted from the Kipling Society website. Click here for the poem’s context and history.) Kipling was from Lodge Hope and Perseverance 782 (EC) in Punjab, India.

The Mother Lodge

There was Rundle, Station Master,

An’ Beazeley of the Rail,

An’ ’Ackman, Commissariat,

An’ Donkin’ o’ the Jail;

An’ Blake, Conductor-Sergeant,

Our Master twice was ’e,

With im that kept the Europe-shop,

Old Framjee Eduljee.

Outside - “Sergeant! Sir! Salute! Salaam!”

Inside - “Brother,” an’ it doesn’t do no ’arm.

We met upon the Level an’ we parted on the Square,

An’ I was Junior Deacon in my Mother-Lodge out there!

We’d Bola Nath, Accountant,

An’ Saul the Aden Jew,

An’ Din Mohammed, draughtsman

Of the Survey Office too;

There was Babu Chuckerbutty,

An’ Amir Singh the Sikh,

An’ Castro from the fittin’-sheds,

The Roman Catholick!

We ’adn’t good regalia,

An’ our Lodge was old an’ bare,

But we knew the Ancient Landmarks,

An’ we kep’ ’em to a hair;

An’ lookin’ on it backwards

It often strikes me thus,

There ain’t such things as infidels,

Excep’, per’aps, it’s us.

For monthly, after Labour,

We’d all sit down and smoke

(We dursn’t give no banquets,

Lest a Brother’s caste were broke),

An’ man on man got talkin’

Religion an’ the rest,

An’ every man comparin’

Of the God ’e knew the best.

So man on man got talkin’,

An’ not a Brother stirred

Till mornin’ waked the parrots

An’ that dam’ brain-fever-bird.

We’d say ’twas ’ighly curious,

An’ we’d all ride ’ome to bed,

With Mo’ammed, God, an’ Shiva

Changin’ pickets in our ’ead.

Full oft on Guv’ment service

This rovin’ foot ’ath pressed,

An’ bore fraternal greetin’s

To the Lodges east an’ west,

Accordin’ as commanded.

From Kohat to Singapore,

But I wish that I might see them

In my Mother-Lodge once more!

I wish that I might see them,

My Brethren black an’ brown,

With the trichies smellin’ pleasant

An’ the hog-darn passin’ down;

An’ the old khansamah snorin’

On the bottle-khana floor,

Like a Master in good standing

With my Mother-Lodge once more.

Outside - “Sergeant! Sir! Salute! Salaam!”

Inside - “Brother,” an’ it doesn’t do no ’arm.

We met upon the Level an’ we parted on the Square,

An’ I was Junior Deacon in my Mother-Lodge out there!

     

‘A ritual in all things.’

     

Bro. Rudyard Kipling

There are a number of reasons why Freemasons should appreciate Rudyard Kipling more than we do today. Of course he was one of Masonry’s great literary figures. He was one of literature’s great smokers. His stories often are so gloriously politically incorrect, one might wonder if such a time had been possible once.

Kipling published “In the Interests of the Brethren” in 1918—a time of disasters: the Great War, the worldwide influenza devastation, the bloodshed of Bolshevism. As you can see in the graphic below, it will be the subject of a reading and discussion done over the web to help keep up the fraternity’s spirits during this most unusual period of absenteeism. (Reason No. 4,267,822 why the Grand Lodge of New York is the center of the Masonic universe in the tri-state area.)

Click here for the text of Kipling’s story.

Click to enlarge.

     

‘The Man Who Would Be on Radio’

     
My compliments to Mt. Zion Masonic Lodge in New Jersey for hosting a novel event later this month: a “radio play” based on Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King. From the publicity:

The Man Who Would Be King—A Staged Radio Play and Immersive Masonic Experience (with themed snacks and drinks) will be presented by Raconteur Radio and Mt. Zion Lodge No. 135 of Free and Accepted Masons.

Tickets cost only $15 per person. Click here.

Based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic yarn, this rousing radio play tells the tall and timeless tale of two rogue soldiers and Freemasons who set off from 19th century British India in search of adventure, and end up as Kings of Kafiristan. It is a time of mission and mystery, of forbidden lands, and of wealth often described as untold. Royal soldiers-cum-con men, Danny and Peachy, climb mountains and cross glaciers to penetrate the forbidden territories where, through luck, battle, and a series of Masonic coincidences, they realize their wildest dreams.

Featuring Jeff Maschi as Brother Daniel Dravot, Carlyle Owens as Brother Peachy Carnehan, and Laurence Mintz as Rudyard Kipling and Billy Fish.

With theatrical lighting, vintage commercials, Golden Age radio equipment, special fog effects, and, of course, hundreds of sound effects.

Plus jazz vocalist Danielle Illario singing Kipling’s “Road to Manderlay.”

Also a special introduction by Lee Pfeiffer, editor of Cinema Retro, a British magazine devoted to the films of the 1960s and ’70s. Pfeffer, a renowned “James Bond scholar,” is the author of The Films of Sean Connery.” (Connery plays Dravot in the film version of the story.)

The event will be held in Metuchen’s own Masonic lodge, with only one showing, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 18. Ticket includes a tour of the lodge and Masonic artifacts, snacks, and drinks, (provided by the Borough Improvement League), and the play.

Raconteur Radio stages theatrical presentations of vintage radio plays, classic works of literature, and pop culture parodies for live audiences throughout the tri-state area. For more info, click here.