 |
| M. H. Krishna |
Mysore Hatti Krishna Iyengar (M. H. Krishna: 19 August, 1892 - 23 December, 1947) was born in Mysore to parents Ranga Iyengar and Lakshmamma. His father was a Sanskrit scholar and teacher to Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar during the Maharaja’s younger years. Ranga Iyengar was Chief of Treasury at the Palace. This was a position afforded to a person of high integrity. This person was required to reside in quarters close to the Palace – in accommodations referred to as “Hatti”; hence the inclusion of “Hatti” in the names of all family members! Ranga Iyengars’ ancestors were closely associated with the Mysore Royal family since generations. One such ancestor was Ramaswamy who was Dharma-adhikari in the court of Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar. They were all natives of a region by name Kalale. Ranga Iyengar and Lakshmamma had five boys and M. H. Krishna was the second of these five children.
Education
M. H. Krishna had his initial schooling at ‘Jayacharya Patashala’ followed by a brief tenure at the ‘Wesleyan Mission High School’ where he was a year junior to the doyen of Kannada literature – Masti Venkatesh Iyengar with whom he retained a close friendship for several years to come. Krishna then gained admission to Maharaja College, Mysore in 1911 to pursue his B. A. degree. Here, he was a classmate of noted Kannada writer Talakina Venkanayya and both studied under Denham. His early interest in Cultural Studies, Numismatics, Archaeology, Indian History, Economics and Political Science was evident by this time. By 1917, Krishna secured a M. A. qualification from Madras University.
