Meghalaya man sports 'Spartan Warrior' costume to raise road safety awareness

SHILLONG, June 11 – He is no Spartan king Leonidos, but his fight isn't any less noble than the Greek warrior king because Bristerlet Ramsiej has vowed to fight and make Nongstoin a safer place for his townsfolk.

Ramsiej, a chef at a resort in West Khasi Hills district, was pained to see young bikers not wearing helmets and also riding rough. So he thought of taking direct action and then dug up some old bronze utensils from the attic.

"I took out the entire old bronze utensils from home and took it up to my friend who is a blacksmith and crafted out a helmet that resembles one that was used by the Spartan warriors, including king Leonidos," he chuckled.

The helmet was popularized in the Hollywood blockbuster 300 which depicts the Spartan king Leonidos leading 300 of the best Spartan warriors to defend for freedom against tens of thousands of Persian army.

Ramsiej watched the movie several times and thought of taking up the role of king Leonidos in real life. So after he made the helmet he wore it and rode the entire town for the next couple of days, which literally turned heads.

His message is simple: "wear helmets for safety and comply with the law of the land."

Wherever he went he spoke to riders urging them to wear helmets. "My message is to spread awareness to my fellow riders all over to always wear helmets with ISI mark and obey traffic rules," Ramsiej said.

He further said that he has been creating awareness not just on wearing helmets, but also to ride safely. "Riders should not use the road as a racing track," he suggested.

Statistics available for the year 2018 reveals that 196 persons died in road accidents and another 232 were injured across the state. Out of this total there were 33 two wheeler riders who died and another 35 were injured.

In 2017, there were 232 persons who died in road accidents and 379 were injured. Out of these, 37 persons who died were two wheeler riders and another 42 persons were injured.

Ramseij, who also owns an eatery in Nongstoin town, says he is currently busy with his business and his profession as a chef at the resort, but he would squeeze out some time and take out his bike to create awareness in Shillong.

"I will definitely come to Shillong wearing the helmet and raise awareness not just on wearing a helmet but also safe riding. The reason being that many blame "the will of God" when accidents occur. "God protects those who know how to protect themselves, " the warrior in Ramsiej said.