H. S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar

H. S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar continued to write in his retirement years. He was a columnist for dailies such as "Star of Mysore", "Mysuru Mithra" and "Taranga" in the latter years. H. S. K. died at the age of 88 years on 29 August 2008 at Mysore after suffering a brief period of illness.

H. S. K. almost always wrote in Kannada language and advocated its use even in administrative circles. This perspective was propounded firmly in his works "Vyavaharika Kannada" (2004) and "Adalitha Kannada" (1991).

H. S. K. tried his hand at Kannada poetry and brought out collections of poems under titles - "Davanada Kone" (1989) and "Tingalurina Teru" (2001).

His collections of essays came out under four different titles - "Jedana Bale", "Modada Maye", "Chandrakanthi" (Collection of lectures delivered on All India Radio - Akashvani) and "Gaddala" (on the hustle and bustle of city life). His collection of 12 short essays came out in 1980 under the title of "Surahonne: Hanneraḍu alita Prabandhagaḷu". He teamed up with Kannada writer and poet - K. S. Nissar Ahmed and Kannada writer A. R. Mitra to bring out an anthology of Kannada essays from 1974 till 1983 titled "Daśavārṣika Prabandhagaḷu". His collection of articles on the literature of the Haridāsas - a sect in Vaishnavism was published by Maṅgaḷa Bhāratī Prakāśana as "Dāsa Sāhitya Darśana" in 1984. His next collection of essays "Mēghalahari: Prabandha Saṅkalana" was published in 1989.

An Economist by education, H. S. K. wrote extensively on contemporary economic plans of the day, namely the Five Year Plans of the Government of India. His take on these plans came out as "Namma Abhivr̥ddhi Yojanegaḷu" (1960) and "Kēndradalli Janatā Mantrimaṇḍala" (1977). His 1971 work "Vanijyashastra Parichaya" was an introduction to the world of economics, which H. S. K. penned specifically for students of economics in the University.

He completed his Bachelor's degree in Economics & Commerce studies in 1948 and joined National High School, Bangalore as a teacher. After a few years at National High School, he moved to 'Ranganatha Institute of Commerce', Bangalore as a member of the faculty. Around this time, Banumaiah College, Mysore invited H. S. K. to join its faculty in the department of Economics & Commerce. While at Banumaiah College, he completed his Master's degree in Economics from Benaras Hindu University in 1951. With a Master's degree, Krishnaswamy Iyengar was able to get promoted to the posts of Associate Professor, Professor and eventually ended up as Principal of the college. He retired from the institution in 1969. At the behest of Prof D. Javaregowda, H. M. Nayak and then Vice Chancellor Srimali, H. S. K. was invited to grace the post of Editor of Humanities Division of the "Kannada Encyclopedia Project" at University of Mysore. For ten years between 1970 and 1980, H. S. K. was additionally the Editor-in-Chief of "Manavika Karnataka" magazine from the University's press. During his tenure at the University of Mysore for eleven years, Krishnaswamy Iyengar also engaged classes for students in the Diploma and Post Graduate studies departments where he delivered lectures on "Indian Cultural Studies". He retired from the University of Mysore in 1980.

H. S. K. was born in the village of Haleyuru near the picturesque tourist locale of Chunchanakatte in K. R. Nagar taluk of Mysore district, India. His parents were Srinivasa Iyengar and Alamelamma. Srinivasa Iyengar was a school teacher by profession. H. S. K. had his initial schooling in Siddapura school at Kempegowda Koppal (village) before moving to Dalavayi and Banumaiah High Schools at Mysore. During these years, H. S. K. began the "Kannada Sangha" (local Kannada literary assoc.) at K. R. Nagar. For a brief period, H. S. K. made a living distributing newspapers in and around his village. He worked as a reporter for then-popular Kannada periodicals "Tayinadu" (Kan: ತಾಯಿನಾಡು) and "The Hindu". H. S. K. completed his Intermediate qualification at Mysore and moved to Central College, Bangalore (then under the University of Mysore) in 1940 for his L. Com (Commerce degree) qualification. During the next three years of his L. Com studies at the Central College, H. S. K. scored good marks and thus secured free boarding at the Ramakrishna Student Home (as a scholarship). In this period, he came into contact with stalwarts of Kannada literary movement like B. M. Srikantaiah, G. P. Rajarathnam and D. V. Gundappa. He stood first in the "Kannada Sahitya Parishat's" exam and won the "Kannada Jana" prize which he personally received from B. M. Srikantaiah.

Haleyuru Srinivasa Krishnaswamy Iyengar (H. S. K.) (26 August 1920 – 29 August 2008) was a Kannada columnist, essayist, novelist, critic and teacher of Economics and Commerce studies in Mysore. He is remembered for his character sketches and short essays on personalities and issues of national & international import, in his weekly column "Varada Vyakthi" (Kan: ವಾರದ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ). These appeared in the Kannada magazine "Sudha" continuously for nearly two decades. His literary critique "Kannadadalli Vidambana Sahitya" won him the Kannada Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981. His perspective on elements of Vishistadvaita in the works of Kuvempu were brought forth in his book "Kuvempu Sahityadalli Vishistadvaita – Darshana". H. S. K. penned close to thousand character sketches over two decades. These were later published in four collected volumes. He received the "Rajyotsava Award" from Government of Karnataka in 1997. For his lifetime contribution to Journalism and Kannada literature, the University of Mysore conferred a doctorate degree on him in 2004.