Manjhi 2.0: Bihar man carves out stairs to temple atop 1,500 ft high mountain in 8 yrs

The Baba Yogeshwar Nath temple, though a famous one in the village and its vicinity, was a difficult one to reach. It took hours for the devotees to reach the temple every day. Paswan, a hardcore devotee of Lord Shiva, resolved to make it easier for them to reach the temple and took up the task of carving out stairs.

Jehanabad:Following the footsteps of Manjhi 'The Mountain Man', who had carved out a mountain in memory of his dead wife, another man from Jehanabad has created history of sorts by manually carving out 400 steps on a mountain with a temple atop it.Ganauri Paswan from the Jaru Banwariya village worked relentlessly for eight years consecutively to carve out the stairs to the temple of 'Bhole Baba' located on the top of a 1,500 feet high mountain in his village.

With a hammer and chisel as his only tools, the man was occasionally accompanied by his family for this passionate mission driven by his devotion to his God. Every day, Paswan would set out to carve the stairs and return by the end of the day, exhausted yet satisfied by his slow but steady accomplishments. The Baba Yogeshwar Nath temple, though a famous one in the village and its vicinity, was a difficult one to reach. It took hours for the devotees to reach the temple every day. And yet a flock of devotees would regularly climb the mountain through hardships and risks of getting hurt, only to perform pujas and ren der Bhajan-Keertans at the temple.

Ganauri, who worked as a truck driver for the initial part of his earning years, later shifted to the profession of masonry in Jehanabad. He stayed away from home for the most part of the year and would visit his village once in a while to spend time with his family. A music and folk-art enthusiast, he started going for Bhajans and Keertans with his fellow villagers to the Bhole Baba temple every day during his visits home. As he joined the troupe that had a routine of going to the temple, he realised how many hardships their everyday journey to the temple involves.

Ganauri saw that it took hours of climbing to reach the temple, which was a risky task, especially in the dark. Being covered with a variety of flora, the mountain also had several thorny plants that could injure the devotees. Besides, there was always a risk of falling down while trekking up the rocky terrain and getting injured. It was impossible for the elderly to visit the temple because of all the hurdles. Women were also at safety risk apart from the risk of getting physically injured.

Paswan, a hardcore devotee of Lord Shiva, resolved to make it easier for the devotees to reach the temple. With the masonry skills he had acquired while working as a mason in Jehanabad, he took up the task of carving out stairs to the temple in 2014. To carry it out with minimal resources, he decided he would carve out stairs from the rocks on the mountain. "I did not care if I lived or die. I just wanted to get these stairs carved anyhow," Paswan said.

As he went about his task with just a chisel and a hammer, he came across several small idols, which he unearthed, and he placed them on the sides of the stairs. A huge, six-foot-tall statue of Buddha carved out from black stone is one of his exceptional findings placed on the way to the temple. His family of two sons and a wife supported him and sometimes accompanied him. He is on the verge of finishing what he started eight years ago with an enormous amount of patience, hard work and consistency. He also received constant appreciation and support from his fellow villagers for his noble cause.

Pawan says his source of motivation is indecipherable to even himself. "I don't know where I got all this patience and energy. it has never felt like a task to me. I would happily get lost in the mountain, working all day. I just wanted to make it easier for the devotees of Baba Bholenath to reach him easily. The work is almost complete. With 10 more stairs, the way will become much easier than it was before," Paswan said, adding that he now wants the temple to be recognised as a tourist destination.