Ramachandra Rao later recorded that :

"And in the plentitude of my mathematical wisdom, I condescended to permit Ramanujan to walk into my presence. A short uncouth figure, stout, unshaved, not over-clean, with one conspicuous feature -- shining eyes -- walked in, with a frayed Notebook under his arm. He was miserably poor. He had run away from Kumbakonam to get leisure in Madras to pursue his studies. He never craved for any distinction. He wanted leisure, in other words, simple food to be provided for him without exertion on his part and that he should be allowed to dream on".

Extracted from "In Memoriam : S. Ramanujan" by Dewan Bahadur R. Ramachandra Rao, Journal of Indian Mathematical Society and in "Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887 -- 1920)" by P.V. Seshu Aiyar and R. Ramachandra Rao in the Collected Papers of Srinivasa Ramanujan, Edited by G.H. Hardy, P.V. Seshu Aiyar and B.M. Wilson, (Third Printing), AMS Chelsea Publishing, American Mathematical Society, Providence, Rhode Island (2000).