R.S. Gopalan had a ready wit always. He bubbled with effervescence of vintage champagne and it was unthinkable not to laugh when Gopalan was around. During his last days he fell inside a moving bus, cracked his hip bone and was compelled to wear a belt always. He told me, “They say, people died with their boots on. In my case they will say, “Gopalan died with his belt on”. In a few days he passed away.
For long years he worked in Economic Department Library. There were two assistants in that library, Shri.Shah and Shri.Singh. An associate from the library, who had resigned and gone abroad came on a holiday and visited the library. The first question he asked was, “Are Shah and Singh still in the library?,” Gopalan’s prompt response -- “Mr. Sadhwani, Once upon a time Shah and Singh were features of the library. Now they are fixtures.”