The Mountain Man : A Story of Love, Grit, and Unbreakable Will

- Komal Doshi

Dashrath Manjhi was a poor laborer from Gehlaur, a small village near Gaya in Bihar, India. The village was hemmed in by rocky hills, and the nearest town with a hospital lay 55 km away—a distance made worse by the towering mountain that blocked the path. 

One day, tragedy struck. Manjhi’s wife, Falguni Devi, was badly injured and needed urgent treatment. But there was no road, and the long, treacherous journey around the mountain delayed her from reaching the hospital. She died before help could come.

Shattered by loss, Dashrath Manjhi made a promise to himself: no one else in his village should face such suffering again. His resolve was extraordinary - he would carve a road through the mountain with his own hands.

Armed with nothing more than a hammer, a chisel, and a crowbar, he began striking the mountain, one blow at a time. Villagers mocked him, laughed at him, even called him insane. But he ignored the voices and kept working—day after day, year after year.

For 22 long years (1960–1982), he chipped away at the rocks. And finally, he achieved the impossible: a road 110 meters long, 9.1 meters wide, and 7.6 meters deep. The journey to the town that once took 55 km was now reduced to just 15 km.

Dashrath Manjhi, once dismissed as “mad,” became the “Mountain Man” of India—an eternal symbol of love, perseverance, and human determination.

Moral: When love fuels determination, even mountains bow down. g