The first lecture of the year was on Vaggeyakara Ramanathapuram ‘Poochi’ Srinivasa Iyengar. He was a disciple of Patnam Subramanya Iyer and a third generation disciple in the lineage of disciples of Saint Tyagaraja. He was a composer of repute and is also credited with have trained many musicians. Dr B M Sundaram gave a special address about Srinivasa Iyengar. He stated that when compared to Hindustani music, Carnatic music gives more importance to lyrics (sahitya) and hence a vaggeyakara gains significance in our system. Among the vaggeyakaras, Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar is one who has composed various musical forms like Varnas, Krtis, Javalis and Tillanas. He learnt under Patnam Subramanya Iyer as per the recommendations of Pandithurai Thevar and Bhaskara Sethupathi of the Tanjore royal palace. Dr B.M. Sundaram also spoke in detail about Patnam Subramanya Iyer and Mysore Vasudevachar. He mentioned about the disciples of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar namely Salem Duraiswamy Iyengar, Madurai Srirangam Iyengar and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.