In the quiet village of Bataw in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills, a farmer named Ram Pirtuh has become a global sensation for something few could even imagine, his incredible ability to eat chillies as if they were just another vegetable.
Ram, now in his 50s, has lived most of his life surrounded by chilli fields and fiery food. For him, spice is not a challenge but a way of life. His story first caught the Internet’s attention in 2021, when a video surfaced showing him calmly eating more than 10 kilograms of dried chillies in a single sitting, without tears, sweat or even the slightest discomfort. The video quickly spread across Facebook and YouTube, gathering millions of views and sparking worldwide fascination.
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As the clip went viral, people were both amazed and skeptical. Some online posts even went as far as to claim that Ram could tolerate chillies in ways no one else could bear, though not all such claims are verified. What remains undeniable, however, is his unusual tolerance for spice. Locals recall several occasions when Ram was tested, bathed in chilli paste, smeared with it and even dared to eat raw chillies endlessly, yet he showed no signs of pain.
When asked about his secret, Ram shrugs it off with simplicity. He said that chillies have been a part of his life since his childhood and now he does not feel spiciness anymore. True to his words, his entire day revolves around it. He begins with chilli tea in the morning, enjoys chilli-mutton curry in the afternoon, and ends the day crunching on raw chillies. For him, spice is more than flavor, it is his medicine, his strength and his identity.
In the Jaintia Hills, chilli farming is common, but no one else has taken it to Ram’s extreme. His fiery lifestyle has made him a local legend and an Internet curiosity. And now, as his old videos resurface online, the farmer who treats chillies like comfort food continues to leave the world amazed, one fiery bite at a time.
