It was over four decades back that the news of Dashrath Manjhi, a villager from a remote part of Bihar, breaking a mountain to create a path had captured the imagination of the country. The fact that he was poor and belonged to a landless family of ‘mahadalit’ category only added further to the inspirational legend of Manjhi who has been called The Mountain Man. From the Chief Minister to the Prime Minister, Manjhi received praise from many highly placed sources in the country.

What really proved inspirational for many people was the fact that at the age of 26 a poor youth took upon himself the impossible looking task of breaking a huge mountain to the extent of carving out a life-saving path that thousands of villagers needed urgently. He toiled tirelessly for 22 years (1960-82) and finally succeeded in his objective. Acclaim followed, but instead of just basking in glory he continued to work tirelessly for betterment of his village. This writer recently visited the village of Manjhi (Gehlour in Gaya district) to talk to villagers to better understand the legend and legacy of ‘the mountain man.’ He was a follower of Sant Kabir, the bhakti movement’s famous poet-saint of medieval times, who has remained one of the strongest and most revered voices of spirituality based on justice, truth and non-violence, and leading a simple and pious life free from all hypocrisy and falsehoods.

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People from the Manjhi community to whom I spoke told me that whenever they went to mountains they found him at work just carrying some sattu in his bag, a legume-based powder which could give some energy and coolness........

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