Stone Throwing Festival, Pattharon ka Mela, is an annual
festival held at Dhami
Village , around 25 km
from Shimla, in Himachal Pradesh. The stone pelting ritual is held the day
after Diwali.
Two groups participate in the centuries old festival – one
group representing the royal family and the other representing common people.
Those getting injured in the festival smear the forehead of
Goddess Kali murti in the vicinity with their blood.
Firstpost reports
"Over 300 people participated in the stone-pelting exercise that lasted less than half an hour. It was stopped as some of them started bleeding profusely," said an organiser of the fair.
In this ritual, members of the royal family of the erstwhile princely state stood on one side, facing the villagers.
The locals, dressed in a new attire, lined the grassy slopes and pelted stones at the royal family members after the arrival of the deity of the Nara Singh temple, housed in Dhami's palace, at the Kali Devi temple in the village.