Annual 'Pathron Ka Mela', a unique stone pelting fair held at Dhami near Shimla

Shimla Oct 21(PTI) Annual "Pathron Ka Mela", a unique stone pelting fair, kept its date and was celebrated with great enthusiasm by local people in Dhami village, about 30 km from Shimla, continuing the centuries-old tradition.

The fair is marked by pelting of stones, mainly by youth from two villages — Halog and Jamog. It is held one day after Diwali and continues until someone gets hit by a stone and starts bleeding. Villagers then smear blood as a 'tilak' on the forehead of goddess Maha Kali.

The injured persons take pride in sustaining injuries, and this year, a 60-year-old person, Subhash, who recently retired as SHO from the police department, was hit first. He said that he was fortunate that he was injured and vowed to keep up the tradition in the future, too.

As per tradition, the fair begins after the priest of the Narsingh Devta temple reaches the Kali Devi temple, accompanied by a team of musicians playing traditional musical instruments.

Residents of the two villages then line up on either side of a circular structure, resembling a well, and throw small stones at each other.

Locals say that the festival was started as a substitute for "sati." Hundreds of people, even from places around Shimla, assembled in large numbers at the sports ground to witness this unique fair. The stone-pelting competition lasted for over half an hour this year, as opposed to 15 minutes in 2024.

The practice is more than three centuries old, and the festival begins with members of the royal family throwing the stone first after performing a puja.

As a precautionary measure, the game is played from a reasonably safe distance.

The local administration and human rights activists have been discouraging the villagers from participating in the ritual by highlighting the cruelty, but, deep-rooted in their traditions, the locals are not ready to give up and celebrate the fair/sport every year in a grand manner without any reservations. PTI BPL AMJ AMJ