From Dilip Cherian

There are few people you totally are awed by, specially if you are a mid – career editor. Gopi was one of those rare babus. You were awed by the minutest nugget he bestowed. And he was generous with them, to those he trusted. Between dollops of rice, yellow dal and mutton curry he would indicate the broad sweep of history contained in an off – the – cuff remark.

Ask Gopi a random question on fertilizer subsidies and his answer would trigger references to ‘kulaks’ to the Meiji restoration and yet encompass Naxals. His towering mind was capable of instant tour – de – forces that boggled those with lesser knowledge – inevitably that meant, most of those he encountered. And yet all of it was lightly tossed. Almost playfully. So you never ever felt lost or even small. That was the Gopi. I revered. And the Gopi I will always miss.

Such mental titans, sometimes come in petite physical packages – but they probably come that way, so that they are forever tucked into our hearts. That’s how it will be, with Gopi.

Dilip Cherian