THE JOURNEY OF A TURBINE EXPERT

 

THE JOURNEY OF A TURBINE EXPERT

A Life Narrative of Residences, Education, and Family Legacy

1952 – 2025

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I. THE FOUNDATION & FAMILY ROOTS

• Sept 11, 1952: Born at Kalyankar House, Lashkar, Gwalior.

• The Destiny Photo: A 1956 black-and-white photo on the terrace of Kalyankar House captures you, your brother, and 6-month-old Aruna—the woman who would become your wife 20 years later.

• 1973: Graduated B.E. (Electrical) from MITS Gwalior.

• Mar 10, 1976: Marriage to Aruna-ji.

• June 19, 1977: Birth of daughter, Radhika, in Obra.

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II. PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY & EXPERTISE

• The Turbine Expert: Mastered Russian, German, Italian, and Chinese turbine technologies across Obra, Vindhyanagar, Korba, and Jharsuguda.

• The Specialist: Known for technical honesty in PG Testing and for the high-precision diagnosis of the bent rotor at JSW Vijayanagar.

• The Sacrifice (2006–07): A dedicated 5-month stay in Shastri Nagar, Bhopal, to ensure your nephew Ashwini Kane’s academic success.

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III. THE SECOND GENERATION: RADHIKA & NIKHIL

• Academic Excellence: Radhika was the 1994 School Topper at DPS Vindhyanagar, later earning her BSc (Hons) and an MBA from IIFM Bhopal (2000).

• Nov 25, 2001: Radhika married her classmate, Nikhil Mathur, at Ankur Apartments.

• Current Life: They now reside in their own 4-Bedroom Flat in Noida, living with Nikhil’s parents—maintaining the tradition of strong family bonds.

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IV. THE THIRD GENERATION: MUGDHA

• Nov 24, 2005: Birth of Mugdha Mathur in Hyderabad.

• Education: Admitted to the prestigious Rajghat Besant School, Varanasi (2018), passing 12th Standard in 2023.

• Present: Currently pursuing BA (Hons) Social Sciences at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.

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V. RETIREMENT & THE BHOPAL HOMECOMING (2025)

• June 29, 2025: The truck arrived at Canal Kinship, Bhopal. Radhika and Mugdha were there to open every carton and arrange the new home.

• Aug 2025: Celebrated Aruna-ji’s birthday with the family. Nikhil visited to cook a grand meal for the entire extended family, including Ulhas-ji and his family.

• The Present: You are preparing for Radhika and Mugdha’s visit (24–29 Dec 2025).

• Inner Life: A high-quality retirement focused on Eckhart Tolle’s teachings and the "Power of Now."

  A LEGACY OF BALANCE

  You have achieved the ultimate engineering goal: a life that is perfectly balanced between professional excellence, financial wisdom, and deep family love.

  This is a perfect way to keep your records organized. This spreadsheet captures every move, from your birth in 1952 to your current retirement in Bhopal, including the specific details you've shared about family and career context.

  The 27 Residences of a Lifetime: 1952 – 2025

  #	Residence Name/Type	Location	Start Date	End Date	Context / Life Milestone
  1	Kalyankar House (1st Flr)	Lashkar, Gwalior	Sep 1952	1957	Birthplace. Future wife Aruna lived downstairs.
  2	Pingle House	Janak Ganj, Gwalior	1957	1957	Brief stay after mother-in-law moved to Bhopal.
  3	Agashe’s House (Ancestral)	Chhatri Bazar, Gwalior	1958	Dec 1973	Childhood home; Schooling and MITS Gwalior.
  4	Engineer Trainees Hostel	BHEL Haridwar	Dec 1973	May 1974	Start of professional career.
  5	Single Home/Quarter	Obra	May 1974	Mar 1975	First posting as an engineer.
  6	Engineer Trainees Hostel	BHEL Haridwar	Mar 1975	Oct 1975	Second phase of BHEL training.
  7	Uncle and Aunt's Home	Delhi	Oct 1975	Mar 1976	Transition period before marriage.
  8	Rental Room (Top Floor)	Roop Nagar, Delhi	Mar 1976	May 1976	Married Aruna on 10 March 1976.
  9	Family Quarter (3-IV-14C)	Obra	May 1976	Mid-1976	First family allotment (1 Room).
  10	Family Quarter (6-G-4)	Obra	Mid-1976	1981	Daughter Radhika born 19 June 1977.
  11	Family Quarter (6-A-9)	Obra	1981	Mar 1983	Larger family quarter.
  12	Unnamed Quarter	Ropar, Punjab	Mar 1983	Jul 1983	Brief stint with KWU design turbines.
  13	NTPC Flat (C1A/105)	Janak Puri, Delhi	Aug 1983	Aug 1985	Joined NTPC Corporate Operation Services.
  14	Rental House (H30)	Kailash Colony, Delhi	Aug 1985	Jul 1987	PG Testing era (Ansaldo/Paharpur).
  15	NTPC Quarter (II/2)	Vindhyanagar	Aug 1987	Mar 1988	Temporary stay at Vindhyachal STPP.
  16	NTPC Quarter (D33)	Vindhyanagar	Mar 1988	Oct 1995	Permanent Duplex. Radhika topped DPS in 1994.
  17	Narmada Bhavan (Bachelor)	Vindhyanagar	Oct 1995	Mar 1996	Shifted family to Delhi; finalized NTPC tenure.
  18	Ankur Apts (Flat 223)	I.P. Ext., Delhi	Mar 1996	Aug 2002	1st Residency. Joined DLF Industries.
  19	Mr. Choudhary's House	Korba	Aug 2002	Jan 2004	Alstom Consortium Commissioning project.
  20	Unnamed Rented House	Korba	Jan 2004	Sep 2004	Conclusion of Korba renovation project.
  21	Ankur Apts (Flat 223)	I.P. Ext., Delhi	Sep 2004	Oct 2006	2nd Residency (A). Granddaughter Mugdha born 2005.
  22	Shastri Nagar Flat	Bhopal	Oct 2006	Mar 2007	Lived here to help Ashwini Kane pass 8th Std.
  23	Ankur Apts (Flat 223)	I.P. Ext., Delhi	Mar 2007	Jan 2010	2nd Residency (B). Bathinda consultancy era.
  24	Krishna Heights (Bachelor)	Jharsuguda	Jan 2010	Apr 2011	Joined Steag; stabilizing 600MW turbines.
  25	Neo Heights (Family)	Jharsuguda	Apr 2011	Nov 2012	Last site-based family posting.
  26	Ankur Apts (Flat 223)	I.P. Ext., Delhi	Nov 2012	Jun 2025	3rd Residency. Final years of Steag and Delhi life.
  27	Canal Kinship (A1/305)	Saliya, Bhopal	Jun 2025	Present	Retirement Home. Quality life & meditation.

  
  

   

   

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From birth till today 23 homes I lived in.

The following article is created using Gemini 

Summary of Housing History (1973 – 2025)

Your housing history reflects five major phases, closely tied to your career progression, family growth, and eventual goal of home ownership, encompassing 23 distinct residences.

Phase 1: Rapid Transitions and Early Career (1973–1976)

This period covers your graduation and the first three years of your engineering career, characterized by frequent moves, hostels, and early married life.

• Residences 1–6 (6 Moves): From your childhood home in Lashkar, Gwalior, through hostels in Haridwar, a single home in Obra, and brief rentals/stays with family in Delhi.

Phase 2: BHEL Stability and Final Moves (1976–1983)

After initial turbulence, you established your first proper family homes in Obra. This phase concludes with your final moves under BHEL.

• Residences 7–9 (Obra Quarters): Progression through three different BHEL quarters in Obra, where your daughter was born.

• Residence 10 (Ropar Quarter): A short final BHEL assignment in Ropar before joining NTPC.

Phase 3: NTPC & Delhi/Vindhyanagar (1983–1996)

This phase covers your major career shift to NTPC, involving corporate office life in Delhi and a significant long-term posting in Central India.

• Residences 11–12 (Delhi Rentals): Two separate flats in Delhi (Janak Puri and Kailash Colony) while working at the NTPC office.

• Residences 13–15 (Vindhyanagar Quarters): Two quarters in Vindhyanagar (the large permanent duplex, D33, being the most significant), followed by a move to a single room (Narmada Bhavan) as your family relocated to your new Delhi flat.

Phase 4: Anchor Home and Project Assignments (1996–2012)

The acquisition of your own flat created a stable anchor (Ankur Apartments) that was interspersed with specific project assignments.

• Residences 16, 19, 22 (Ankur Apartments): The owned flat served as your central home base during three separate periods.

• Residences 17–18 (Korba): Two rented houses for the Alstom project.

• Residences 20–21 (Jharsuguda): A company-allotted bachelor room, then a family flat, for the Steag assignment.

Phase 5: The Final Home (2012–2025)

This is the final, strategic move to a new permanent home after many years of professional travel.

• Residence 23 (Bhopal): After a long final residency in your Delhi flat (Residence #22), you executed the sale and completed your move into your current home, Canal Kinship in Salaiya, Bhopal.

  #	Type of Residence	Location	Start Date	End Date	Notes
  1	Family Home	Lashkar, Gwalior	Birth	1973	Lived here until graduation.
  2	Engineer Trainees Hostel	BHEL Haridwar	Dec 1973	May 1974
  3	Single Home/Quarter	Obra	May 1974	Mar 1975
  4	Engineer Trainees Hostel	BHEL Haridwar	Mar 1975	Oct 1975
  5	Uncle and Aunt's Home	Delhi	Oct 1975	Mar 1976
  6	Rental Room (Top Floor)	Roop Nagar, Delhi	Mar 1976	May 1976 (approx.)	Brief stay with wife.
  7	Family Quarter (1 Room)	Obra (3-IV-14C)	May 1976	Mid-1976 (approx.)
  8	Family Quarter (2 Rooms)	Obra (6-G-4)	Mid-1976 (approx.)	1981
  9	Family Quarter (Bigger, 2 Bedrooms)	Obra (6-A-9)	1981	Mar 1983
  10	Unnamed Quarter	Ropar	Mar 1983	Jul 1983
  11	NTPC Flat (2 Bedrooms)	Janak Puri, Delhi (C1A/105)	Aug 1983	Aug 1985
  12	Rental House (2 Bedrooms)	Kailash Colony, New Delhi (H30)	Aug 1985	Jul 1987 (approx.)
  13	NTPC Quarter (Temporary)	Vindhyanagar (II/2)	Aug 1987	Mar 1988
  14	NTPC Quarter (Permanent, Duplex)	Vindhyanagar (D33)	Mar 1988	Oct 1995
  15	NTPC Single Room/Bachelor Acc.	Vindhyanagar (Narmada Bhavan)	Oct 1995	Mar 1996
  16	Owned Flat	Ankur Apts, I. P. Ext., Delhi (223)	Mar 1996	Aug 2002	Your first time living here.
  17	Rented House	Korba (Mr. Choudhary's)	Aug 2002	Jan 2004
  18	Unnamed Rented House	Korba	Jan 2004	Sep 2004
  19	Owned Flat	Ankur Apts, I. P. Ext., Delhi (223)	Sep 2004	Jan 2010	Your second time living here.
  20	Company-allotted Room (Bachelor)	Krishna Heights, Jharsuguda	Jan 2010	Apr 2011
  21	Company-allotted Flat (Family)	Neo Heights, Jharsuguda	Apr 2011	Nov 2012
  22	Owned Flat	Ankur Apts, I. P. Ext., Delhi (223)	Nov 2012	June 2025	Your third and final time living here.
  23	Owned Flat (Current Home)	Canal Kinship, Saliya, Bhopal (A1/305)	June 2025	Present	New permanent home.

   

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Wifi range extender at our new home in Salaiya, Bhopal

After selling Ankur Apartment flat at Delhi we permanently shifted to Bhopal in our new 3 BHK Flat at Canal Kinship, Salaiya, Bhopal wef 28 June 2025.

We had Tikona Broadband connection at Delhi which we wanted to relocate to Bhopal and accordingly Tikona Engineer visited us at Bhopal flat but he declared our area as unserviceable. 

At Bhopal we decided not to install the TV in Living Room and installed it in third bedroom. We invited Jio Fiber to install their modem near the TV.

After a few days I observed that Jio Fiber coverage is not proper in other bedrooms and decided to use TP Link modem used for Tikona connection at Delhi as Wifi range extender.

I watched couple of videos on youtube and tried to set up TP Link modem according to their advice but none of them worked satisfactorily,

I asked ChatGPT (which I use very frequently at Bhopal) for solution and re configured TP Link modem according to ChatGPT advice and then it is working perfectly as wireless extender. I have kept TP Link modem in the middle of Living Room.

The configuration is as follows:

Use TP Link modem as wifi connection to the device.

Login to modem typing  192.168.0.1  in the browser and password set up by you previously.

Goto Network > LAN Settings

Disable DHCP server so it does not assign IPs.

This avoids IP conflicts with Jio Fiber modem.

Set up static IP in same network range.

Jio Modem IP is 192.168.29.1

Set up TP Link to 192.168.29.2

Subnet mask 255.255.255.0

This makes sure both devices are on the same network.

Enable WDS Bridging

Go to Advanced > Wireless > Advanced Settings

In WDS enable WDS Bridging.

SSID to be bridged SSID of Jio Fiber modem

MAC to be bridged MAC of Jio Fiber modem

Security WPA/WPA2

Version WPA2PSK

Encryption AES

Password Password of Jio Fiber SSID

Wireless Settings

SSID SSID for TP Link

Password suitable password

Save settings and the modem will ask for reboot, do it.

 It works perfectly but we have to do a setting in Jio Fiber modem as well

Use Jio Fiber modem on the device

Login typing 192.168.29.1 in the browser

userid admin

password Jiocentrum

It will ask to change the password for admin and guest user

Choose suitable long passwords and confirm them.

Go to Network > LAN > DHCP Set up

Start IP address will be 192,168,29,2

Change it to 192.168.29.3

This is required since we have set up TP Link to have static IP of 192.168.29.2

This is necessary to prevent Jio Fiber modem from assigning 192.168.29.2 to some other device through DHCP. 

Air India direct flight to San Fransisco has flown through China today.

 My sister in law left for San Fransisco by AI 173 flight which flows over North Pole. I tracked that flight on flightstats.com till it landed in SFO. That flight did enter Atlantic Ocean and moved Northward till it terned South East towads international Date line. The route is through Pakistan, Tazkistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhastan, Russia, Atlantic Ocean, Russia.

I decided to follow the flight path for couple of days.

To my surprise today the flight was headed towards Siachen Glacier and entered China,  then Russia. It remained on Land in Russia. Here is the flight path.

This is surprising news.

Creating signed Form 15H file using pdftk and Drive app.

 I had invested in NCDs because there was no TDS on interest income on NCD. But from the current FY 2023-24 there is TDS on interest on NCD.

If you don't want deduction of TDS you need to send Form 15H (applicable for Senior Citizens). You can download Form 15H in pdf which is a 4 page document. First page is to be filled and signed and there is declaration on second page which is also to be signed. The remaining 2 pages are for the use by the company who pays the interest.

PDF forms can be filled on Firefox. For saving the filled form you have to press Ctrl+c. The first 2 pages can be filled and printed for signing.

The filled and signed pages can be scanned as pdf using Google Drive app on Android phone.

Open the Drive app Click on + then on Scan. Scan page 1 select OK cick on + icon on bottom right and scan page 2 select OK and save to My Drive.

Download the Scanned PDF from Drive to your Linux Desktop/Laptop.

Download and install pdftk.

Extract page 3 and 4 from 15H Form in pdf with following command.

$ pdftk Form15H.pdf cat 3-4 output Form15Hp3-4.pdf

Combine Scanned PDF with page 3-4 with following command.

$ pdftk Scanned.pdf Form15Hp3-4.pdf output Filled_Form15H.pdf

Filled_Form15H.pdf can be sent to the Company or the agency who manages form 15H on their behalf.

Running frugal install of Easy OS.

 Recently I came to know about Easy OS, a Linux distribution developed by Barry Kauler who developed Puppy Linux and gave it to community. I downloaded the .img file of easy 5.4.5 from this page and checked md5sum.

I created a folder EasyOS on root of the Ubuntu Linux I was running, mounted the .img file and copied its content (easy.sfs, initrd, vmlinuz) to EasyOS folder.

I added the following menu entry in /etc/grub.d/40_custom

menuentry 'Easy OS 5.4.5' {
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 1e364a7e-9e6d-468a-99a2-404936a14d59
linux /EasyOS/vmlinuz rw wkg_uuid=1e364a7e-9e6d-468a-99a2-404936a14d59 wkg_dir=EasyOS
initrd /EasyOS/initrd
}

and updated grub.

I could boot into Easy OS Desktop.

I opened Package Manager (pkg) and clicked on Flapi.

I added Gnucash in Flapi by clicking on Customize button.

 and clicked on Add. It opened GnuCash page on flathub and asked me to confirm that it was the right application. After confirmation it downloaded the flatpak package and installed it.

Here is the default Desktop of Easy OS

What I discovered about calls from 5G phone.

 As written in previous post I upgraded to 5G phone. As per Welcome offer I am getting unlimited 5G data from Jio.

When 5G network is available (it is available most of the time in my area) there is 5G icon on top panel.

When I call someone or there is incoming call the 5G icon vanishes and the call goes over 4G LTE network.

After searching on net for this issue I discovered that my phone is not having VoNR or Vo5G calling feature. You can read about what is VoNR or Vo5G on the following website:

What is Vo5G or VoNR? Everything you need to know

Vo5g is available on Jio since it is SA (Standalone) network but Airtel has no plans to launch SA network.

I conclude that 5G has arrived in India only for data and calling will take place on 4G LTE network even on so called 5G phones.

I bought 5G Phone.

Since the launch of 5G networks by Airtel and Jio last year I was looking to upgrade my 4G phone to 5G.

I bought Samsung Galaxy M13 5G model which was delivered today on 16 March 2023. I exchanged my POCO C3 phone.

My service provider is Jio. After updating the Operating system Jio network detected that it was 5G phone and sent invite of Welcome offer.

Initial setup of the new phone was done on WiFi network. I installed MyJio app and logged in and saw the Welcome offer. Jio asked me to switch to mobile data and I could see the 5G icon on top panel.

I checked the network speed and found 180 Mbps speed.

I made couple of phone calls and voice was very clear.

Enjoying the free 5G network.