That’s the name people know Dasrath Manjhi by. The first time I heard about him was when I was a kid. My mother told me about this poor labourer who by the sheer strength of his will and hard work created a passage in mountains on his own. What Manjhi did may seem to be too far-fetching to believe but his actions depict the power of human will and love.
He was resident of Galhour a remote village surrounded by rocky hills in Gaya,Bihar. Residents of this village faced a lot of difficulties due to the hills, while going to nearby places. It so happened that one day manjhi’s wife Falguni fell while climbing the mountains , later she succumbed to her injuries due to lack of timely medical treatment.
Moved by his wife’s death he took upon himself the herculean task of creating a path through the hills so that no one suffers the fate of his wife or the pain of his loss. He began with a hammer ,chisel and nails and it took him 22 years of hard work to finish what he had started back in 1967.People considered him mad but his devotion to his wife kept him going and he carved a 360 ft long 30 ft high and 25 ft wide path which reduced the travelling distance from 55 km to 15 km.
Truly an individual can make a huge difference if driven by strong will power and love.
In reply to Daily Prompt challenge Unsung Heroes
We all have our semi-secret, less-known personal favorites — a great B-side, an early work by an artist that later became famous, an obscure (but delicious) family recipe. Share one of your unsung heroes with us — how did you discover it? Why has it stayed off everyone’s radar?
Thoughts Unbound 