The Man Who Carved A Road Through A Mountain To Help His Village

This is the inspiring true story of an incredible human named Dashrash Manjh.

Armed with only a hammer, chisel, and crowbar he began carving what ended up being a 30-foot wide, 25-foot-deep passage through 360 feet of the mountain.

Tirelessly Dashrash kept working for 22 years. His true story of determination and hard work is truly a reminder for all of us humans young and old to persevere!

“God has given each individual the strength to make a dent in the universe!”

–  Dashrath Manjila

Photo Credit:  Oren Nashshon

Dashrath Manji was a poor laborer from a small town called Gaya, in Eastern India who lived at the foothills of Gehlour hills. Because of this mountainous range, it was quite an isolated village. To reach the nearest town, one had to travel 70 km around the Gehlour Mountain.

One tragic life-changing day in 1960, Dashrath’s beloved wife Faguni Devi slipped and was injured while bringing him lunch to the farm where he worked. As there were no nearby hospitals she was not able to receive adequate medical treatment and soon died.

Dashrath was deeply hurt and saddened by his wife’s preventable death. He became determined no one else should suffer the same tragedy and resolved to build the road to make his village more accessible. He wanted his village could have easier access to medical attention at the town blocked by the mountain.

Initially, the heartbroken determined Dashrath was ridiculed by his villagers when he started hammering the hills with chisel, hammer, and shovel in his hand.. “When I started hammering the hill, people called me a lunatic but that steeled my resolve.” He would work all day at the farm and then head to the mountain to continue his mission. Slowly, people started to respect his ambition and started helping him by giving him food, water, and bought tools for him.

It took him an incredible 22 years of hard labor to carve the path into the mountain to carve the path into the mountain, changing the distance to the nearest town from 70km to 15 km!  Dashrath’s dream of people to have access to doctors, jobs, education, and opportunities had come true. Since finishing the road no villager has lost their loved one due to lack of timely treatment, no children remain illiterate like Manjhi with an accessible road good school nearby.

Directed, shot, and edited by Ruchir Saraf. Music courtesy: Tony Anderson(Rapha, Further Up Further In, You Are Loved); Klaus Schönning(Chinese Twilight);  Ennio Morricone(The Falls).

This short documentary was created by Milaap, India’s largest crowdfunding platform for personal causes.

It enables anyone across India to raise funds for healthcare, education, sports, disaster relief, and other personal causes.

If you enjoyed this inspiring post, and are looking for more uplifting reads.

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