Persistence and perseverance have a payday

Great Things Take Time

Why Focusing on the Long Term is More Important Than Ever

Look at the photo above. See that road in the center that cuts through the mountain ridge? The history behind that road is one of the most remarkable tales of human perseverance, yet you have probably never heard it.

The story starts in 1960 in the town of Gehlaur in the north-eastern part of India. In order to get supplies or seek medical treatment, the villagers of Gehlaur would have to walk a treacherous 30 mile (50km) path around the mountain ridge pictured above. Phaguni Devi, one such villager, was walking along the ridge one day when she fell and injured herself. Upon hearing of his wife’s injuries, Dasrath Manjhidecided that the villagers of Gehlaur had walked around that mountain ridge for long enough. Determined to change this, that same night Dasrath told himself that he would carve a path through the mountain.

Starting in 1960 using only a hammer and chisel, Dasrath started cutting away at the ridge. When the local villagers heard about Dasrath’s goal they mocked him saying that it would be impossible. However, this didn’t stop him. Over the course of the next 22 years Dasrath chipped away at the mountain to carve a path that was 360 feet long (110m), 30 feet wide (9.1 m), and 25 feet deep (7.6m). In total he moved over 270,000 cubic feet of rock by himself, day by day, night by night, finishing the path in the early 1980s and earning the nickname “Mountain Man.”

In creating this path, Dasrath Manhji was able to reduce the travel distance between the neighboring villages from 34 miles (55km) to 9 miles (15km) in order to provide easier medical access for the village residents. Sadly, Dasrath’s wife, who was the inspiration for his mission, died a few years before his work was complete.

If you search “Dashrath Manjhi Breakthrough” on Google Maps and go to Street View you can find the final product of his two decades of work: