ACAD_IADVL yahoo groups of Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL). He persisted in his endeavors to participate in the academic discussions over the internet forums even as his health failed and his vision blurred.

It was his visionary zeal that marked the birth of the Indian Dermatology Online Journal. During casual chats on ACAD_IADVL, he mooted the idea of a journal in electronic format which would stimulate and provide platform primarily to practitioners for reporting interesting clinical cases. The journal was meant to represent the rare and rich clinical material available in the Indian subcontinent.\[[@ref1][@ref2]\]

He was born on March 21, 1931, to Kolady Madhava Menon and Thekkeppat Chinnammu Amma in Thrissur, Kerala, India. He did his schooling at Thrissur and then went on to complete his collegeeducation from Victoria College, Palakkad. In 1953, he completed his graduation from Madras University.

Dr. Gopinathan was very fond of sports and an ardent lover of soccer. One day, during his college days at Madras Medical College, he met Dr. R. V. Rajam in the hostel corridor while returning from a game. It was Prof. R. V. Rajam, the world renowned Venereologist, Dean of Madras Medical College, and Dr. Gopinathan\'s teacher who asked him to join the All India Institute of Venereology at Madras as a postgraduate student in 1954 after he had completed his internship at the Madras Medical College. Rajam said two things that enabled Gopinathan to make up his mind very quickly -- first, venereology was the only postgraduate specialty that was offering a princely sum