Chaff and Draff: The Personal Diary of Prof. M Hiriyanna

[Nityanand Misra]

Dear scholars,

I am pleased to receive one of the first copies of “Chaff and Draff: The Personal Diary of Prof. M Hiriyanna” (June 2026: Preksha Pratishthana), edited by Sh. B.N. Shashi Kiran.

“Chaff and Draff: The Personal Diary of Prof. M Hiriyanna” brings out, for the first time, the personal diary of Prof. Mysore Hiriyanna (1871–1950), the famed Indian philosopher, aesthete, and Sanskrit scholar. The book has been ably edited by the immensely talented young scholar B.N. Shashi Kiran, who has done justice to Hiriyanna’s scholarship with valuable footnotes. The book starts with a 24-page introduction to Hiriyanna’s life and his personal diary. The next two hundred pages have Hiriyanna’s diary entries from 1895 to 1948. This part includes a few photos of the original diary, with Hiriyanna’s beautiful handwriting in English and Kannada (he mostly used the Kannada script to write Sanskrit verses). The diary is followed by twenty-two plates with facsimiles and photographs. Towards the end of the book are seven useful appendices on Hiriyanna.

I congratulate Sh. B N Shashi Kiran and Preksha Pratisthana for bringing out this wonderful book. It is of immense value to students and scholars of Indian philosophy and aesthetics. 

Bibliographic details:

Shashi Kiran B N (ed.). (June 2026) “Chaff and Draff: The Personal Diary of Prof. M Hiriyanna”. ISBN 978-81-990680-6-3. Bengaluru: Preksha Pratishthana.

Some photos of the book are here.

Regards, Nityānanda Miśra