Patna, Feb 15 (IANS) The ‘Samadhi sthal’ or the memorial of ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi is emerging as the Taj Mahal of Bihar as large numbers of foreign and domestic couples come here to take inspiration from Dashrath Manjhi’s love for his wife.
Dashrath Manjhi, a native of Gehlaur village in Gaya district, had carved a path 110 m long (360 ft), 9.1 m (30 ft) wide and 7.7 m (25 ft) deep through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and chisel. After 22 years of work, Dashrath Manjhi shortened travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km.
In 2015, Director Ketan Mehta made a movie based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi. Nawazuddin Siddiqui played the lead role in the movie.
Domestic and foreign tourists who visit Gaya and Bodh Gaya also visit Gehlaur village. It is one of the major tourist attractions of Gaya district. The place is considered as a symbol of love. The young couples, especially on Valentine’s Day, throng the memorial of Dashrath Manjhi in Gehlaur.
Famous personalities like Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, actor Aamir Khan and others visited the place in the past. A postal ticket in memory of Dasrath Manjhi was also issued by the Central government
Died in 2007, Dashrath Manjhi was daily wage labourer from Gehlaur. When his wife Falguni Devi died in 1959 due to injury caused by falling from a mountain and due to the same mountain blocking easy access to a nearby hospital in time, he decided to carve the path through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and a chisel. After 22 years of work, Dashrath Manjhi shortened travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya district from 55 km to 15 km.
Following his demise, the Bihar government built a statue and a memorial of Dashrath Manjhi. It also named the road between Gehlaur and Wazirganj as ‘Dashrath Manjhi Path’.
–IANS
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