How to close Paytm FASTag

Recently I closed Paytm FASTag account. It is very simple and sharing the steps here.

1. Open Paytm app in your mobile.

2. Click on your profile image (top left corner)

3. Click on "Help & Support".

4. In the next screen, select Fastag.

5. In the next screen, click on "Need help with non order related queries? Chat with us".

6. Now a chat window opens up. In this screen select "Queries related to updating FASTag Profile".

7. In the next option, select "I want to close my FASTag".

After this follow the directions asked by the chat such as choosing your vehicle number and other details. Once you complete the steps, it will show that the closure is successful.

After the successful message, you can remove your tag from your vehicle and destroy. Also, you can apply for a new FASTag from any other provider. Hope this information helps.

Europe Tour with Kesari - Photos

In the previous post (click here to see the review), I shared my review about Kesari Tours and Europe trip. In this post, I'll share the pictures in the order of the visit.

Europe Tour with Kesari

The Europe trip was always in our minds as a wishlist but it took more than 10 years to execute. When the right time arrived, my wife and I started planning for the same. There were many questions like should we go on our own or through a tour operator, should it be a customized trip or a group tour etc. We spent a lot of time researching for whatever information available so that we can make a decision. Finally we decided to go on a group tour with Kesari Tours. In this post, I’ll share the information on what to expect in a group tour and how was our experience with Kesari and of course on the places we visited. As far as places are concerned, I’ll try to share more pictures with less description. I hope this will provide enough information for anyone who is looking for a similar tour.

ದೇಹ ಮತ್ತು ಜೀವ

ದೇಹ ಮತ್ತು ಜೀವ ಚಿಂತನೆಯ ಒಂದು ಲಘು ಕೃತಿ

Immune by Philipp Dettmer - A Book Review

I was scrolling through my Twitter timeline and a person had tweeted about a book titled "Immune". What caught my attention was this book is authored by the same person who is the creator of "Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell" YouTube channel. Having subscribed to this channel, I know how good this creator/ team is. In a series of videos, he explains complicated concepts in a simple and effective way with the help of amazing animations. I checked about this book in Amazon, and I got to know that this book is about Immune system - what exactly the Immune system is, how immunity works in the body and what it takes to develop good immune system. 

A day with an Astronomer at IIA

This post is written by my son Supreet. In his own words...

The IIA (Indian Institute of Astrophysics) had organized a program called “A day with an astronomer” at Bengaluru for students studying in class 9 and 10. The student will be paired with an astronomer at IIA and will be shadowing the scientist throughout the day. The students can observe what the scientist is doing, ask questions, have a discussion with them etc. In this post I’ll share my experience of this program and what I learnt.

Experiencing India's First Dark Sky Reserve

It was 1:30 AM in the last week of September. Location: Hanle, a remote place in Ladakh.

It's an open area and pitch dark. It's very cold and the temperature reads -2°C. The wind is only making it worse. The 6 layers of clothing is not helping much! With eyes, nose and mouth exposed, the cold is taking a hit on the face.

Life after life by Raymond Moody and Hindu scriptures

The book "Life after life" by Raymond A Moody is a fascinating read, where the author describes the "Near Death Experience" encounters of many people. In this post, I draw a parallel of those experiences with what is described in Hindu scriptures.

Pure Vegetarian homestays in Karnataka

Whenever I start searching for homestays, I look for the homestays which serve only vegetarian food. It is not easy to get a list of such homestays. I have to literally go through reviews of every homestay (barring a few) and find out if they serve only veg or not. With that exercise, I end up having a list of such homestays in Karnataka. That prompted me to create a list and post it in my blog so that it can help anyone looking for only-veg homestays.

Astronomy Visual Observation Report - 18 May 2021

Date: 18-May-2021

Time: 9PM to 12AM IST 

Location: Bengaluru, India 

Equipment: Orion SkyQuest XT8g GoTo Dobsonian Telescope; 12.5mm eyepiece

In previous two observations, I mainly concentrated on open clusters and double stars. So this time, my objective was globular clusters. But I also observed a few OCs and nebulae.

Breath and Meditation workshop from Art of Living

I had watched breathing and meditation techniques in YouTube videos. But wanted to learn from a Guru (teacher) so that I get a satisfaction that I learnt with a proper technique and I get to ask questions and get clarifications. When my engineering classmate Guruprasad mentioned that the Art of Living is conducting a workshop on the same through online, I decided to enroll for this program. Especially during these covid times, it was more than necessary to learn proper breathing techniques and meditation.

Astronomy Visual Observation Report - 7 Feb 2021

Date: 7-Feb-2021 

Time: 7pm to 10pm IST

Location: Bengaluru, India

Equipment: Orion SkyQuest XT8g GoTo Dobsonian Telescope with 12.5mm eyepiece

Last time my observation was mainly focused on clusters. This time it was double stars. Here's the list of double stars observed. 

19 Lyncis

38 Gemini Castor (looked beautiful) 

Acamar (Eridanus)

32 Eri

Beta Monocerous (this was tripple stars)

Eta puppis

Kappa puppis

Beta Andromeda

Delta Cephei

Eta Cassiopeiae (white and reddish stars)

Gamma Ari (2 bright stars together)

Lambda Ari

Psi piscium

Zeta piscium

Rigel (beautiful sight)

Mintaka

Iota Cancri

Zeta Cancri (very close to each other)

145 Canis Majoris aka Winter Albireo

54 leonis (very close to each other)

Gamma leonis (very close to each other)

However I couldn't resolve the following double stars:

Adhara

Gamma Cet

Sigma Cassiopeiae

Astronomy Visual Observation Report - 24 Jan 2021

This is the report of the Visual Observation through my new Telescope.

How did I choose my first telescope

This post is about my first telescope and specifically would like to share how did I choose the first telescope and what factors played a role in deciding a specific model or type.

Jupiter Saturn Conjunction 2020

On 21st December 2020, people on Earth witnessed the great conjunction of the two biggest planets in our Solar System Jupiter and Saturn. Though they are separated by a greater distance, as seen from the Earth they appeared closer to each other.

Gundimane Homestay Review

With lockdown and travel restrictions all around for almost 9 months, we were desperate to go out of Bengaluru but to a safe place. After a lot of research, we got to know about Gundimane homestay. It ticked all the boxes so we decided to visit this homestay. This post is a review of this homestay. Towards the end of this post, I have also provided more information in Q&A format.

Dabbaguli - A picnic spot near Bangalore

During this covid time and restrictions on travel, we were looking for a place where there is not much crowd and we can enjoy the fresh air without wearing mask. We got information about this place called Dabbaguli from YouTube channels and Facebook posts. The place looked ideal (riverside as well) during these times and we decided to visit this place. As rightly mentioned in the YouTube channels, this place was really awesome and it was worth all the effort. In this post, I'll provide details about this place and tips.

A story behind ATM invention and why security PIN is 4 digits

How & why ATM (Automated Teller Machine) was invented and why the ATM security PIN is 4 digits by default.

Balarama's wife Revati and Time Dilation

In Bhagavata Purana, there is a story of how Revati and her father traveled to Brahma loka and due to time dilation, they lost 27 mahayugas on Earth. In this my first ever video, I will talk about this interesting story and draw parallel with the concepts in today's science.

Astronomy Poem

Recently I went to a star party at Coorg organized by Bangalore Astronomical Society. The sky was pretty clear and dark and I was able to see many deep sky objects. This experience inspired me to write a poem. This poem is dedicated to the BAS.