Hello fellow Steemians
Today I am going to share with you a true story of a man from India who moved a mountain!! Yes you read it right moved a mountain. His is a true story of undeterred will and nothing is impossible attitude. He is an inspiration to everyone young and old and his name will be forever written in the history.
The Love Story
Dashrath Manjhi or as he is popularly known as the "Mountain Man" was a poor labourer from Gehlaur village, Bihar, India who ran away from his home at a very young age and worked at the coal mines at Dhanbad for seven years. There he met the love of his life Falguni Devi and the two got married and returned back to the village. One fateful noon when Falguni, heavily pregnant was bringing lunch for her husband to the fields, for which she needed to climb a mountain in searing heat. She slipped and fell down the mountain, Dashrath on the other hand unaware of this unfortunate event was waiting for her in the fields where one of the villager informed him about the mishappening. Dashrath ran towards the village to bring his wife to the hospital which was across the mountain about 70 km(43.75 miles) away, where she was declared brought dead but she gave birth to a baby girl.
The Revenge
Manjhi,heartbroken from his loss vowed to break the ego with which the mountain was standing by carving a way through it single handedly. Equipped only with a hammer and a chisel and the with the memory of his lost love, Manjhi began his 22 years long struggle to move the mountain.
Everyone in the village including his father ridiculed him for taking on the mountain, but Manjhi was adamant and was in pain of losing his love. Nothing in the world would have changed his mind because nothing is stronger than the power of love.
The Troubles
Years passed on but Manjhi never deterred from his vow, during this period the village was hit by a severe drought and all the villagers evacuated the village and Manjhi's father also took dig at him so that he would go to a city to earn bread for his children. But nothing was going to move Manjhi, he stuck to his task drinking dirty water and eating leaves to survive.
In 1975, Emergency was declared in India and the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi visited Bihar to address a rally where Manjhi was able to get a picture clicked with her. On seeing this, the Head of the village convinced Manjhi that he would get government funds for a road alongside the mountain. But alas, Manjhi was duped and decided to complaint to the PM.
Manjhi, with no money started his journey to Delhi but this too was not an easy task as he was thrown out of the moving train. But no amount of suffering was to bring this man down and he reached Delhi by foot.
Delhi at this time was engulfed in protests due to the emergency in the country, so when Manjhi along with his photography with Indira Gandhi reached near the PM's office, was not only shooed away but his photo was torn and also was beaten with lathi(iron-bound bamboo stick).
The Heartbreak
After such an humiliation, aged and weak Manjhi lost all his hopes and felt that his efforts has not yielded any results.
A ray of hope
Manjhi now old and hopeless, thought of trying one last time and his determination started having effects on the villagers as they came to his help. During this time, with Manjhi having support of some villagers, the local officials arrested him without nay charges. But a journalist, whose eyes Manjhi had caught came as a messiah and got him released.
The Inevitable
Now enjoying the support of the villagers, Manjhi was able to carve out a 360 feet long, 30 feet high and 30 feet wide passage through the mountain.
It took Manjhi a total of 22 years(1960-1982) to accomplish his task, in which he shortened the 70 km long distance to just 1 km just in order to provide his village with better healthcare facilities.
Conclusion
Many of you might know the story of Taj Mahal which was built by Shah Jahan in the memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Everyone considers Taj Mahal as the perrenial symbol of true love. But only a few people are aware about Manjhi, who carved a mountain. Manjhi is a story of undying love, determination and passion showed by a common man amongst us. The story shows what a person is capable of doing if he sets his mind to it. It shows when you never give up then even mountains can be boken down.
I hope that you liked this true story and would take some inspiration of this amazing man, MANJHI : The man who moved the mountain.
