Indian families are familiar with the voice ‘Mai Samay Hoon’. B R Chopra’s Mahabharat serial’s every episode would begin with this particular sentence. It was the voice of Harish Bhimani. No viewer wanted to miss Bhimani’s voice. He took this particular area of voice-over to a new height as he earned a National Award for it. Bhimani wrote documentaries, serials and also, a biography on the iconic singer late Lata Mangeshkar. Though Bhimani hails from Rajasthan and now settled in Mumbai, the city of Nagpur too has played a major role in his journey. An alumnus of the erstwhile Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Bhimani is in city to grace the function of his alma mater which has become a university--Laxminarayan Innovation Technological University.

 

While talking to ‘The Hitavada’, Bhimani revealed about his new creation where he wrote a description of prayer of RSS in Hindi and gave voice over to it. He also spoke about his Nagpur connection and also, about his journey from an engineer to a voice over artist. Harish Bhimani wrote the description of prayer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-- ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhume’ in Hindi and gave voice over to it. Rahul Ranade, renowned Music Director, provided music to it, while famous singer Shankar Mahadevan sang it. Narrating the story behind this creative project, Harish Bhimani said, “The word Matrubhumi and its aura, which makes one to bow down before the motherland, touched me. I thought why not write its description in Hindi and I wrote the meaning of two lines and presented it to Ranade. He liked it very much and started following up, asking me to complete the description, as if I was doing his assignment.” It took Bhimani two and a half months for composing the written description of the prayer. Ranade then spoke to some people from the RSS, who liked the idea. Accordingly, Ranade provided music direction to it while Shankar Mahadevan sang it. The album will be released in Nagpur, probably in September. 

 

 

It was Padma Shri Dr Milind Kirtane, noted ENT surgeon, now known for his skill in performing most complicated surgery of cochlear implant, who made Harish Bhimani leave his habit of smoking. When Bhimani developed some problem in his throat, he approached Dr Kirtane. Dr Kirtane asked him to first abjure smoking and then, come. Bhimani obediently followed the directive and came back to Dr Kirtane. For three visits, the Hinduja Hospital doctor did not take a single penny. Upon asking that why he did not take money, Dr Kirtane told Bhimani, ‘Your voice is country’s heritage.” Bhimani shared the incident with ‘The Hitavada’ with tears in his eyes. 

 

‘Nagpur provided me breathing space’ 

 

“While pursuing Chemical Engineering at LIT, I spent four years in Nagpur, which I had never imagined. Though I was studying engineering, my mind was into exploring other options. My stay in Nagpur gave me a breathing space. When I introspected, it gave direction to my thought process,” expressed Harish Bhimani. At Nagpur he came closer to noted anchor, writer Kishan Sharma. Bhimani completed the degree with flying colours. Whatever he did, it was with complete dedication. He did MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) in Mumbai where getting an admission is a big challenge. He later joined Union Carbide, but left the job in pursuit of exploring a career as an anchor. His wife was the first to recognise the talent in him. It gave him confidence and rest is history. He shot to fame through Mahabharat’s ‘Mai Samay Hoon’.