‘Poochi’ Srinivasa Iyengar’s vast treasure of compositions

Looking at the life and works of the legendary composer

Lec-dems on the life and works of musicians of the past open up a window to an era gone by and to know how music has evolved over decades.

At The Music Academy, Ritha Rajan presented an interesting account of Ramanathapuram ‘Poochi’ Srinivasa Iyengar, an eminent musician-composer, one of the most well-known after the Trinity.

An outstanding third generation musician of the Manambuchavadi sishya parampara of Tyagaraja, he belonged to the Chellur Iyengar community, who are believed to have migrated from Chelluru or Selvanallur in the East Godavari district during the 9th century, settling mostly in Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram. Born to Narayana Iyengar and Lakshmi Ammal in Pappankulam in Ramanathapuram district, young Srinivasa inherited his interest in music from his mother, a good singer.

Talking about his moniker ‘Poochi’, meaning insect, Ritha quoted Tamil scholar U.Ve Swaminatha Iyer, who said he got the name because his singing was as melodious as a bee’s hum.

Srinivasa matriculated from Ramanathapuram High School in first class. Pandithurai Thevar, a schoolmate, who later became the zamindar of Palavanatham, identified his musical aptitude and was responsible for his learning under Patnam Subramania Iyer. Srinivasa, an admirer of Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer, imbibed a lot from his raga alapana and pallavi singing.

Poochi Iyengar’s concerts

Srinivasa Iyengar’s concerts usually began with the Bhairavi ata tala varnam ‘Viribhoni’, followed by a few keertanas with antara gandhara. He often included Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Neelotpala nayike’ (Nariritigowla) and ‘Subrahmanyaya namaste’ (Kamboji); Kavi Matrubhuthayya’s ‘Neemadi challaga’ (Anandabhairavi); and ‘Garuda gamana’ (Nagaswaravali) and ‘Nee padamula’ (Bhairavi) by his guru Patnam Subramania Iyer. He usually sang the pallavis, ‘Mandahasa vadana’ in Sankarabharanam, or ‘Ma Madura Meenakshi’ in Bhairavi. Towards the end of his performances, he used to render some of his own compositions and conclude with a javali and thillana. His favourite ragas were Shanmukhapriya, Sankarabharanam, Kalyani, Kapi, Varali, Begada, Sahana and Husseini.