The Mountain Man
(Teaching Idioms Through Story)
Dashrath Manjhi was born into a poor tribal family in Gaya district. His life was not a bed of roses (a life full of comfort and ease). At a very young age, he went to Dhanbad in search of a job. There, he worked in coal mines as a child labourer. However, his small income forced him to live a hand-to-mouth life (living with barely enough money for daily needs).
He found it difficult to make both ends meet (manage one’s expenses with limited income), so after a few years, he returned to his village and started working in his fields.
One day, while he was working on the other side of the mountain, his wife, Phaguni Devi, was bringing food for him. Unfortunately, she slipped while climbing the mountain and died. This tragic incident struck him like a bolt from the blue (a sudden and unexpected shock). But he made up his mind (decided firmly) to bring this mountain to its knees (overcome something powerful).
Being a resolute man, he decided to carve a path through the mountain. When villagers saw him breaking the mountain with a hammer and chisel, they laughed at him and thought he had gone mad. For them, it was a wild goose chase (a useless effort). Even when people discouraged him, he turned a deaf ear (ignored what others said) and continued his work with determination.
After twenty-two years of relentless effort, he finally carved a path through the mountain. Through his perseverance, he proved the saying:
“Where there is a will, there is a way.” (strong determination leads to success)
In the end, he made the villagers eat their words (admit they were wrong).
He is popularly known as “The Mountain Man.”
No comments:
Post a Comment