What does a Freemason in India wear to lodge?

Dress requirements for lodge meetings in India combine traditional Masonic regalia with specific formal attire standards. Historical lodge records from Hyderabad in 1866 document that members were instructed to attend meetings in full dress or uniform, while also establishing that jewels belonging to other orders, such as Mark or Templar degrees, were unconstitutional to wear in a Craft lodge 1.

In modern practice, the Grand Lodge of India requires every brother to be clothed in the Masonic regalia appropriate to his rank, noting that the apron is a fundamental part of lodge dress. Regarding personal clothing, members who are not wearing Naval, Military, or Air Force uniforms must wear full evening dress, a dark lounge suit with a tie, black and white attire, or Indian national dress according to the Grand Lodge of India.

Regalia in Craft Masonry centers on the apron, which varies by degree to denote a brother's rank. The Grand Lodge of India specifies that an Entered Apprentice is invested with an Entered Apprentice apron upon initiation, which is worn during lodge working.

Upon advancing to the second degree, a Fellow Craft wears a plain white lambskin apron decorated with two sky-blue rosettes at the bottom 2.

When raised to the third degree, a Master Mason wears a Master Mason apron as his proper regalia, as outlined by the Grand Lodge of India. This apron features sky-blue lining and edging no more than two inches deep, silver tassels, and a third rosette on the fall or flap 2. For those who reach the chair as Masters or Past Masters of a lodge, these three rosettes are replaced by emblems formed of perpendicular lines upon horizontal lines, creating three sets of two right angles in silver or matching blue ribbon 2. Historically, the Grand Lodge of India records that the symbolical dress of a Master Mason traditionally consisted of a plain black coat and breeches, accompanied by a white waistcoat, stockings, apron, and gloves.