News Headline
Discovery Channel to air six-part series ‘Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell’
NEW DELHI: The world-renowned survival extraordinaire Bear Grylls will feature in a new series BEAR GRYLLS: ESCAPE FROM HELL on Discovery Channel where he will apply his expertise one step further by pitting himself against real-life dangers faced by ordinary people stranded in devastatingly dire situations in the world’s most desolate landscapes.
Coupled with incredible archive footage and intimate interviews with the survivors – including a British scientist who was lost and alone in the deep jungles of Malaysia, Bear will show how they survived by attempting to recreate and reliving their fateful journeys through firsthand experience and demonstrating the best possible strategies for survival.
The six-part series will air every night at 9.00 pm starting 9 March.
Bear risks his life by trekking in the shoes of the amateur adventurers across the most inhospitable locations on Earth and through the harshest weathers, dissecting and analysing the survival techniques they employed and providing expert advice and tips on what could have been done to completely elude or alleviate the severity of these unfortunate circumstances. From a plane crash in the Amazon, to remote crevasses of the European Alps, scorching North African desert and more, Bear will toss himself into the same unforgiving landscapes where these incidents took place and attempt to live, sleep, survive and navigate to safety.
He traces and reconstructs the steps and actions of these survivors – and even suggests what he thought they could have done better – including throwing himself into mini-avalanches, leaping off from cliff ledges to tree tops, hunting and eating animals and insects unique to each terrain, creating shelters and making weapons.
Senior vice president & general manager, India, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Rahul Johri said, “Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell presents Bear Grylls taking on bigger challenges as he throws himself into the harshest of situations using his vast knowledge of life-saving techniques. An extremely thrilling series, it will attract high appointment viewing from both men and women.”
“In this new format series, viewers can also look forward to more inspiring stories of endurance and persistence from the iconic explorer.” Johri added.
While each landscape presents its own unique set of challenges, they also share universal themes of survival; hydration, shelter, warmth, food and navigation. Bear uncovers how each survivor cheated death using ingenuity and persistence to ensure they had at least one of these necessities. Along the way, he demonstrates crucial life-saving skills that can be easily executed by inexperienced adventurers, including drinking the blood of a snake for crucial hydration in the scorching desert, minimising the loss of mobile phone battery energy by warming it up underneath your armpits, hunting tarantulas in the jungle for vital caloric intake, creating tepee shelters from tree branches, fighting off frostbites by creating improvised hot water bottles with zip lock bags and your pee, amongst others.
The series marries emotion with real experience in a no holds barred series that celebrates instinct, courage, ingenuity and sheer determination in the face of extreme dangers and phenomenal pressure, revealing insight into the human spirit and our instinct to survive.
Highlights from Episodes
·Bear enters the Guatemalan jungle to relive the experiences of three groups of jungle survivors. Mexican archaeologist Armando Anaya tells how his team were attacked by bandits as they excavated Mayan ruins, then stripped of their belongings and forced across a dangerous river. In Malaysia, British microbiologist John Gillat had only set out on a short walk from his hotel when he got lost in the jungle. It was soon clear he would have to stay in the jungle for the night. Two Frenchmen, Loic Pillois and Guilhem Nayral, went on an expedition into the Amazon rainforest which turned into a gruelling 52 day ordeal. Bear experiences their toughest challenges and demonstrates the survival skills they used to stay alive – from river crossings, to tarantula hunting and lighting signal fires.
·Bear heads to Canada’s snow-covered Pacific Coast mountain range to explore incredible real life survival stories in this hostile, unforgiving terrain. He throws himself into mini avalanches, jumps into freezing cold rivers and leaps from a cliff ledge into a tree top as he retraces the steps of three remarkable men – Sébastien Boucher, Eric Le Marque and Charles Horton – who all found themselves in the ultimate battle for survival. They faced freezing temperatures, life threatening injuries, severe dehydration and extreme exhaustion but showed courage, ingenuity and sheer determination to escape from hell.
·Bear travels to Morocco’s searing Sahara Desert where he recreates the brute force of a Saharan sandstorm, scales crumbling desert cliffs, drinks the blood from a snake and his own urine for vital rehydration, as he retraces the steps of three remarkable men – Mauro Prosperi, Ed Rosenthal and Merritt Myers – who each found themselves in the battle for survival. They all faced scorching temperatures, the constant search for water, severe dehydration and heat exhaustion, and accepted that death was inevitable, before pulling back from the brink and surviving despite the odds.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
