People are made of flesh and blood and a miracle fibre called courage. – McLaughlin
On Friday, 17th of August, after prolonged battle with cancer, a man breathed his last in Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was Dashrath Manjhi, the 78 year old legend who has now become the part of folklore in Gaya District of Bihar, India.
The courage and will of this man is one of those rare real life incidents which will continue to inspire mankind for ages to come. This simple man from Gaya had the fortitude and conviction to move mountains and he made it happen by his sheer perseverance and faith in his efforts to move the mountain. He is an inspiration for all us and just when you feel chips are down and the road ahead seems insurmountable, put yourself in his shoes and imagine the courage it would take to move a mountain.
Yes, this man literally moved a mountain! Alone, just by his sheer will and perseverance.
Over four decades ago, a frail, landless Dashrath got hold of a chisel and a hammer and decided to change the face of his village nestled in the rocky hills of Gaya. He almost tore open a 300-feet-high hill to create a one-km passage. Instead of endlessly waiting for the apathetic administration to do something for those formidable hills that virtually cut his village off from civilization, Manjhi, then in his early 20s, took up a chisel and hammered at the rocks for 22 years.
It all started from Manjhi’s love for his wife. For, when she slipped off the rocks while getting food for him as he worked in a field beyond the hill and broke her ankle, it became a burning passion to tame the formidable hills. And he completed this Herculean task — creating a short-cut which reduced a long and arduous journey from his village Gahlor Ghati to Wazirganj to a walkable distance. At that time people called him mad. They ridiculed him. Even his wife and parents were against this “adventure,†especially when he sold his goats to buy a chisel, a hammer and rope.
But, by then, Manjhi was a determined man. He shifted his hut close to the hill so he could work all day and night, chipping away, little by little. May times he did not even bother to eat. With most of the cultivable land and shops across the hill, villagers had to cross it many times a day, braving dangers. It was after 10 years that people began to notice a change in the shape of the hill. Instead of a defiant rockface, the hill seemed to have a depression in the middle. Climbing it became a little easier. All those who had called him mad began to quietly watch him work. Some even chipped in.
Then in 1982, twenty-two years after he had started out, that day came when Manjhi walked through a clear flat passage — about 16-feet wide — to the other side of the hill. But his victory was tinged with sadness. His wife, who inspired him to take on this task, was not by his side. She had died of illness. They could not take her to a hospital on time.
But, the villagers were there to celebrate with him. They got him sweets, fruits and all that they could afford. The young generation in that area had grown up hearing stories of the man who wanted to move a mountain. Now that dream had become a reality and a boon for them.
This formidable task, single handedly performed by Dashrath Manjhi, resulted into a 1.5 kilometer long road through the Gahlaur Mountain thus reducing the distance to cross the mountain from a grueling 50 kilometer to a much-easier 8 kilometer.
This hand-carved passage through the hill still remains the only sustainable change his village has ever chanced upon. Tubewells were installed, but they ran dry. Electric poles were put up, but the cables never came. And a five-acre plot given by former CM Lalu Prasad to Manjhi for a hospital still lies barren.
Septuagenarian Manjhi hadn’t given up though. In a recent interview he had said “I met CM Nitish Kumar recently. He has promised to develop the passage so that even a car can pass and will connect my village to Gaya. And, he told me that I will lay the foundation stone.â€
Manjhi died on Friday at AIIMS in Delhi despite top care provided by the nation’s premier health facility. The state government of Bihar, in honor of Manjhi, has announced its decision to name the road built by the mountain man as Dashrath Manjhi Road and that hospital in Atri village in Gaya (which is yet to be built), to be named after him. He will not be there to lay the foundation stone when that passage will be developed fully, however, his story will continue to be the source of inspiration for many in the nation
I pay my humble tribute to Dashrath Manjhi. May his soul rest in peace!
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ekjut.com said,
Wrote on August 18, 2007 @ 4:02 am
Remembering a man who moved a mountain – alone.
The inspirational story of Dashrath Manjhi who literally moved a mountain by working alone for 22 years !. Manjhi died on friday at AIIMS.
Laura said,
Wrote on August 18, 2007 @ 5:02 am
A beautiful and respectful article…
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Christine Martell said,
Wrote on August 18, 2007 @ 11:01 am
Thank you for sharing the story of this incredible man. When I get discouraged that I am not accomplishing something in the hours, weeks, and months of the modern day’s expectation, I will remember him to help myself keep going.
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Eklavya said,
Wrote on August 18, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Thanks to both of you Laura and Christine for expressing your views. I am glad that you liked the story of this legendary man.
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Hemant said,
Wrote on August 18, 2007 @ 9:07 pm
Gread man….Very inspiring life of a simple man. Unimaginable.
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Inspirational power of stories at VisualsSpeak said,
Wrote on August 19, 2007 @ 11:02 am
[...] challenge participants. We have been working online to improve our blogs. The Indian Blogger shares a story of Dashrath Manjhi who moved a mountain, literally. You have to see what he [...]
Tom Tiernan said,
Wrote on August 20, 2007 @ 1:01 pm
Talk about unfailing commitment. Wow. This reminds me of the story about the turtle and the hare. Dashrath Manjhi being the slow, determined turtle whose perserverance, determination and unwillingness to be side-tracked allows him to win the race. And perhaps the government plays the part of the hare. Their willingness to make all kinds of promises without fulfilling them detours them from crossing the finish line. Meanwhile the humble turtle outdistanced them over a period of decades.
Thanks for the write-up of this man’s life.
[Reply]
Inspirational power of stories » VisualsSpeak said,
Wrote on August 21, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
[...] the blogging challenge participants. We have been working to improve our blogs. The Indian Blogger shares a story of Dashrath Manjhi who moved a mountain, literally. You have to see what he [...]
Suresh said,
Wrote on August 22, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Wonderful Story Eklavya. Thanks for sharing this. It is indeed an inspirational Story
[Reply]
Great Baron Unleashed! » Blog Archive » Thots + More WordPress Resources said,
Wrote on August 22, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
[...] and make a difference(to yourself,family,world)? What made me to spew such a commentary above? This article from [...]
diksha said,
Wrote on August 26, 2007 @ 9:54 am
its an amazing story of devotion and determination……i am happy to now abouty it
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Neo said,
Wrote on August 30, 2007 @ 11:49 am
coincidently, i too covered the story.
http://viralshah.blogspot.com/2007/08/man-who-moved-mountainliterally.html
really inspiring!!!
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maneesh said,
Wrote on August 31, 2007 @ 11:26 am
this is the first time read about him… thanks for sharing this eklavya..
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sanjaykumar said,
Wrote on September 20, 2007 @ 1:23 am
ek ishk sahjaha ke parelle
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Eklavya said,
Wrote on September 20, 2007 @ 6:47 am
Thanks Sanjay for your comments. For all those who don’t know Hindi let me describe what Sanjay has said in his comments :
“ek ishk sahjaha ke parelle” means ‘A love story equivalent to that of Shahjahan the great Mughal Emperor who built the Tajmahal in the memory of his belove wife.’
Well said really
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sanjaykumar said,
Wrote on September 23, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
ek ishk sahajaha ke parelle
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sanjaykumar said,
Wrote on October 4, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
dasrath manghi’s caretaker asks limca to set the records straight
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sanjaykumar said,
Wrote on October 12, 2007 @ 4:17 am
please reply soon
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sanjaykumar said,
Wrote on October 12, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
visvi sadi ka frhad dasrathmanghi ko kaha gaya tha
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sanjaykumar said,
Wrote on October 16, 2007 @ 1:40 pm
pahar ne patni ko rulaya to pahar ka sina hi chir dala dasrath manghi ne
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Vikram Singh said,
Wrote on April 5, 2008 @ 12:59 am
Mai is mahaan person ko dil se namaskar karta hun. Ye prerna aur aadarsh hai un logon ke liye jo life main sankat mai hain aur life ki problems se fight kar rahe hain aur ye answer hai un kaam choron ke liye jo redlight par bagging kartey hain ya night ko choriyan kartey hain. Aik baar phir dashrath manghi ko mera charan sparsh.
vikram
noida
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gopal krishan said,
Wrote on April 5, 2008 @ 3:45 am
i like your devotion.And am supressed to think that what a supreme desire of love was in the heart of “farhad of 20th century.
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grandhamg said,
Wrote on April 6, 2008 @ 9:41 am
i love INDIA
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abhinav said,
Wrote on April 6, 2008 @ 10:25 pm
its great to have a patriotic person like him in our country.
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justine said,
Wrote on April 14, 2008 @ 2:35 pm
man like dasrath majhi is inspiration to all of us indian people.and other’s also if one’s will is so pathbreaking then thousand of same will’s people can make our india in top position
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g lakshminarasimhan said,
Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 9:26 am
iam lakshminarasimhan belongs to tamilnadu working in lucas tvs i had readen the achivement of dhasrath manji in tamil magazine i weeped out i want to learn more from him if i heard this news a year before i will met him and i fel in his legs such a great man i had missed him i cant express my feeling in words
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gowrishankar Reply:
May 4th, 2009 at 9:47 am
hai gowri please my comments about my hero
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Sandip said,
Wrote on June 27, 2008 @ 1:19 am
Hi,
i met this person two years back and spoke to Him. i had also covered it in :
sandip691.vox.com.
but i thought his name was Dasaratha Das instead of Dasaratha Majhi.
anyways if you have some more photos of his, do post it to me.
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hitaish kumar said,
Wrote on June 29, 2008 @ 7:06 am
on hearing about dashrath manjhi, the famous words of swami vivekananda came to my mind…..
Arise, Awake and Stop not till the goal is reached
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Nadeesh Cherian said,
Wrote on November 21, 2008 @ 3:05 am
Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way
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Raghu Sharma said,
Wrote on November 27, 2008 @ 7:06 am
a nondescript man with a cadaverous physique armed with a chisel,a hammer, a rope n perseverance…
he’s a pinnacle of human spirit..
brilliantly carved in a story eklavya.
KUDOS!!!
May DM RIP
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Sachin Samy said,
Wrote on May 1, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
One feel so inspirited to learn and see someone so patrioit all alone moving a mountain. Where did such a vigour and spirit has come from. We must follow the foot-step of such a great personlity. We must irridicate selfishness and personal honour. Let us learn from him, God bless everyone and our country
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Pankaj said,
Wrote on May 13, 2009 @ 7:56 am
People like Dashrath Manjhi deserve the reward like Padmashree….
Just think what did Akshay did even after being rewarded Padmashree…no offences
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Ravi said,
Wrote on May 13, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
truly an inspirational story
it is said as proverb in hindi tat if u r determined u can move a hill. he has shown tat wat a person can do wen he is determined, physical barrier is nothing front of it
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Mridul said,
Wrote on June 10, 2009 @ 2:10 am
Awe inspiring stuff. Hats off to this legend. He sure has moved a mountain and drilled in lots of inspiration into me. Proves , the smallest of efforts persisted over a long period can bring about a big change.
. May his soul rest in peace.
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arvind kumar mukul said,
Wrote on July 16, 2009 @ 2:18 am
very good story
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pintu indian said,
Wrote on September 19, 2009 @ 12:05 am
Manghi people say you died but i think you never died. you live in my heart this time,next time, life time and for ever. We proved of you. you told us “NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE”. Jay Hind Jay Bharat
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Shrinivas said,
Wrote on December 10, 2009 @ 9:13 am
I had read about this great man couple of years ago and it was back of my mind all the time. Then I have been looking for this article and this inspiring news item for months and finally got it. Thanks for the post.
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ashu said,
Wrote on February 2, 2010 @ 12:44 am
Its awesome story
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Hardev Singh said,
Wrote on February 6, 2010 @ 6:15 pm
Really great men like Dashrath Manjhi are rare on this earth. They do their job honestly and with dedication and say good-bye to this wounderful world. Their deeds are inspiration for the humanity. Let every village in India should have atleast one Dashrath Manjhi to inspire young generation. I bow my head in respect to this great son of India. May God bless his soul.
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M Chakraborty said,
Wrote on February 17, 2010 @ 5:29 am
A great piece of article, actually people remember Shahjahan and flock to see his creation Tajmahal, Shahjahan fathered a dozen babies, the brunt bore by his wife, he taxed, flogged people to build the Taj,and people say he made it for the love of his wife. As compared Swargiya Dashrath Majhi, with his own money, own sweat and love for his only wife, chiselled day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, decades on he carved out his road – this road is much more than the TAJ, this is what should symbolize – love for your wife, this is what people who love should visit not the Taj.I salute the maestero!
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