Documentaries on Science and Nature are thrilling to watch. Many television channels produce fantastic documentaries that are mostly lost amongst all the soaps that people obsessed with. Nothing is more thrilling than knowing about how the world around you came into being and how things work. Without further banter, here are 3 Documentary series you have to watch before you die:

Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
Narrated by David Attenborough, Planet Earth takes us into all corners of the earth to show us the nature of the environment, its animals, plants, weather and much more in this series with mostly never before seen visual footage. 5 years in the making with 2000 days in the field, using 40 cameramen across 200 locations, Planet Earth is the ultimate portrait of our planet. There entire series is a 5 DVD set or a single Blu-Ray disc that you can buy from your local media store or online.



History Channel's Evolve
This series begins 100s of millions of years to when life first appeared and takes us on a series of journeys in which the evolution of a specific aspect of animal life is detailed. It talks about the evolution of eyes, sex, jaws, flight, communication, guts etc. This one is a must watch if you have any doubts about evolution. And the ability of scientists to put the puzzles together and figure out how things worked 300 million years back just by studying fossils is mind blowing.



BBC Horizon
A long running series from BBC, Horizon documents a wide range of topics from Einstein's life and times to How to plan the perfect murder. Learn about Nuclear weapons, their effects, nuclear accidents and how to survive a nuclear war. Learn about the Human brain and evolution.

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There is nothing as relaxing as a trip into serene mountains, trekking through pristine nature and enjoying wilderness after a hard week's work. Here are some interesting destinations in the vicinity of Bangalore that make perfect weekend destinations to relax and burn some calories.

Adventure Camp @ Kemmannugundi Hills

A major hill-station in Chickmagalur District,  Kemmannagundi is a single, secluded hill surrounded by sprawling coffee estates, waterfalls and ornamental gardens. September-May is the best season to visit Kemmannagundi. Situated on the Baba- Budan range at a height of 4,702 ft. above sea level, Kemmanugundi is the ideal place to get away from the heat and dust, the crowds and traffic jams of the cities. Nestling amidst lush green forests, the quiet, peaceful and serene Kemmanugundi is sure to revive and rejuvenate you physically, mentally and spiritually. The panoramic views, the ornamental gardens, the songs of the birds, the rays of the sun trying to peep through the trees, all are sure to leave the visitors spellbound. Time tiptoes gently here. And as you take a walk down an inviting mountain trail, you find yourself laughing aloud - with the sheer joy of living. The Hebbe Falls are located 8 km away from Kemmannagundi and the water cascades down from the height of 168 mtrs. in two stages to form the Dodda Hebbe (Big Falls) and Chikka Hebbe (Small Falls). The Hebbe Falls are quite spectacular. 

Wilderness Camp @ Nagarahole Forest

Nagarahole is situated in the picturesque districts of Kodagu and Mysore in southern Karnataka. This place is around 230 Kms from Bangalore. The Nagarahole National Park was first set up in 1955. Once an exclusive hunting preserve of the erstwhile rulers of Mysore, the terrain of this Park is gently undulating with lush green vegetation, swamps and numerous water resources, rendering it an ideal habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Altitude 700 – 957 Mtrs; Climate – Cool from October to January – minimum at 15 Degrees. The forest is home to animals like the four-horned antelope, sloth bear, jungle cat, civet, spotted deer, elephant, wild dog, flying fox, tiger, panther, gaur (Indian bison), sambhar, wild boar, black-naped hare, bonnet macaque, and pangolin. Cobras, crocodiles, kraits, pythons, vipers, and several species of lizards are also found here.

Cool Coorg Adventure Camp

THADIYANDAMOL is the highest mountain in Coorg (Mercara) Dist ( 1750 Mtrs. MSL). This place is around 250 Kms from Bangalore - via Virajpet. The climb to this mountain is gradient passing through grassland. If you are the type who likes to mingle with nature, see the snow-like mist romance with mountain slopes, feel the tingle of the cool and gentle breeze, watch the leaves flutter in dance-like movements, hear the sounds of chirping birds fill the air, then Coorg is the place for you.  Kodagu is noted for its scenic beauty. Hiking, cross-country, or simply motoring down mountain trails in Coorg, the visitor encounters panoramic views of the morning mist rolling down thickly wooded hill slopes and the undulating paddy fields and neat rows of coffee bushes resplendent under the blue skies.

CARE (Centre for Adventure & Rejuvenation of Environment) is an Outbound Training & Adventure promoting organization established in Bangalore by a group of experts in the field of Outbound, Adventure and environment. Most of their adventure trips are priced at a reasonable Rs. 2500/- for Indians and $80 for Non-Indians. This includes transportation, basic accomodation and food. 

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Reading is one of the best ways to spend time wisely. Anyone who doesn't have a reading habit, in my opinion, is missing out a lot in life. It is said that a book is a man's best friend. And there are some really good reasons why this is true:

1. It transports you to an exciting world you are not a part of
2. You get to learn new things about the world around you; improved general knowledge
3. You get to travel to places sitting in your room
4. You have more exposure to human behavior and consequently are better informed
5. As a person, you grow philosophically reading books and are more matured
6. Makes you an open-minded person
7. You form new ideas about a lot many things
8. For the sheer joy of reading

It is very common to find people without a reading habit who like reading comic strips if they have nothing else to do. If you belong to this category of people, transitioning to a non-graphic novel isn't all that difficult. Some people are turned off by the amount of time needed to invest in reading books when it seems like there are other activities that seem to be able to kill time much faster. Consider a 3 hour indian movie that you watch on television that typically lasts 4.5 hours taking into account all the advertisements and songs which you could most often do without. This is pretty much the amount of time it would take to read 1/3rd of an average novel if you are an average reader. Books are much more intense, gripping and personal than movies ever can be. This is why most books have poor movie versions. Besides, a good book can take you into a virtual world inside which time does not exist and you ride an adventure you never forget. You live the moment as you read.

Many people are daunted by big books with hundreds of pages of text without images. I belonged to this category once upon a time. My initial attempts to read failed out of fear of the inability to remember character names over many pages without having a face to attach to them. Also, the descriptions were too detailed and unnecessary. It is true that some books are too complicated for beginners to read and can turn off people from the reading habit permanently. It is essential to get started with books that have simple language, fast and interesting plots and delve with topics that you are unfamiliar with (but interesting). The following books would be a good start to a reading habit if you have decent english and are above the age of 16 (not a 100% rule).

1) The Bourne Series by Robert Ludlum
This thriller series will take you into a world of espionage, spies, weapons, assasins, fighting tactics, surveillance and much more that you normally don't come across in real life. The first 3 books (Bourne Identity, Bourne Legacy and Bourne Ultimatum) in the series were written by Robert Ludlum and the rest were by Eric Van Lustbader. While I am not impressed with the non-Ludlum books, the first three books are gems.



2) Fist of God by Fredrick Forsyth
Covering the same theme of espionage, weapons and spies, Fist of God takes brings you closer to the real world. A story of a covert operation set in the middle east during the Gulf War, this book gives a good summary of the how and why of the gulf far during the early 90s.



3) If Tomorrow comes by Sidney Sheldon
A story of theivery, trickery and deception, If tomorrow comes is a very fast paced book that amazes you with a lot of good presence of mind tricks and is a mini guide book of con. Written in typical Sidney Sheldon style of having a unrevealed twist at the end of each chapter, this book is a page turner




4) Tell me your dreams by Sidney Sheldon
Dwelling into the world of multiple personality disorders, the book does a fantastic job of keeping great suspense especially if you do not know what multiple personality disorder is.



5) Jurrasic Park, Prey, Timeline by Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton is in my opinion the best science fiction writer, inspite of the criticism he has come under in the recent past for distorting science. His books mostly deal with a topic in the cutting edge of technology in the frontiers of scientific development. Jurrasic park deals with ressurecting dinosaurs and is quite a popular movie and just like most movies does not do justice to the book. Prey deals with nano technology and Timeline deals with time travel. Crichton does a fantastic job of convincing you the practical possibility of what seems like impossible science fiction.



Enjoy Reading!

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Jason Bourne is always dreaming. He is haunted by people he has never met in his life. Bad dreams. Who is David Webb? He is trying to reach a decision about being David Webb, the Professor who teaches at the Georgetown University or as Jason Bourne, his second identity of the Lethal Fighting & Infiltration Machine. Now, he is back in the sixth installment of the Bourne series by the famous novelist Eric Van Lustbader & co-authored by Robert Ludlum. Jason Bourne, in this new work of fiction, is somewhat subdued. He has things going on in his mind about the past with his wife, Marie and his two kids he has to stay away from.

This novel tries to bring forward some of the best action and adventures of Bourne that we have seen in the previous books. I for one feel that this book does not do justice to the character of Jason Bourne. A story of danger, love, power, vengeance and a mad Russian. Bourne is pitted against his wishes in to a war against an unknown terrorist organisation and at the same time he is wanted by the NSA. Unknown to Bourne, he is going to meet somebody equal to him in all ways possible except that this person does not feel. The revelation at the end of the novel is fantastic. Alex Conklin has created Jason Bourne for a reason and that reason is...

Go ahead, buy the book and read it. You may like it if you are a fan of Jason Bourne.

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When I think about surviving in the wild, movies like Rambo and Predator first pop in to mind (If you really want to watch a good movie about surviving in the the wild check out: Into the wild) . The whole idea of living in the wild and being able to stay alive sounds like the kind of thing that can make one feel at the heights of living-the-moment. But a Rambo knife just won't cut it. Survival in the wild is a skill and requires good planning and knowledge. Even then, there are no guarantees.

Survival topics is an interesting website I came across that has information on the various aspects of surviving outside your comfort zone.

The website is split into various sections like FireSteel, Blades And Knives, Blog Books, Bushcraft, Clothing, Compass, Fire, Food, Health, Heat, Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, Improvised Gear, Jobs, Knots, Lost, Music, Myth, Navigation, News, People, Pets, Plants, Preparedness, Psychology, Safety, Shelter, Signaling, Stoves, Survival, Gear, Survival Kits, Survival Skills, Survival Supplies, Survivalist, Blogs, Water, Wilderness Medicine, Wildlife and Winter.

There is lot of good information about surival skills. Some of the interesting ones are:

1. How to choose a survival knife

2. The 5 basic surival skills

3. How long can you live without food

4. Using Time as a compass

5. Find the temperature using Crickets (insect)

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