Dashrath Manjhi

 Dashrath Manjhi had a difficult living in the village of Gehlaur in Gaya of Bihar in India, with his wife, Falguni Devi, and their son, Bhagirath Manjhi. 

The village was, and still is, one of the poorest villages of India. There are no nearby schools, hospitals, or even basic needs such as electricity in the village. Dashrath himself, although working in his fields and raising some goats to bring in a small income, "was among India's the poorest of poor" (Built a Road). In the village Gehlaur, as in many nearby villages, the women had to make an arduous journey to fetch neat and clean water for themselves and their families every day. One day, Dashrath's wife returned from the long, timely, regular trip with water for her family members when she slipped on a loose rock and injured her leg. During her gradual recovery, Falguni was down with fever. The nearest reaching point to the doctor was about 45 miles away. Falguni, too sick and still recovering, was unable to make the trip over the mountain. She died from the lack of medical treatment. This tragedy initially inspired Dashrath Manjhi to carve a path through the enormous mountain, beginning his journey as a moral hero.

Grief-stricken and angered by this mountain's difficulties, Dashrath Manjhi dedicated his life and sacrificed much to carve out the mountain. He moved his house closer to the chisel, a path through it day and night. Even with the extra working hours, Dashrath spent twenty-two years of his life completing his goal.

In 1982, Manjhi's dream of chiseling a path through the mountain to make the trip to the other side safer and shorter was finally achieved. People from 60 different villages could use his chiseled road to travel to the river, hospital, and school. Thousands of people from his village and others like it use his road every day. Their daily journeys were cut from over 35 miles to less than 2 miles, using Dashrath's new road. The villagers call him 'Baba,' meaning the revered man, and people worldwide know him best as 'The Mountain Man.'