Pathron Ka Mela celebated in Shimla

 Shimla village celebrates annual ‘Pathron Ka Mela’

• Residents of Dhami, a village on the periphery of Shimla, celebrated the annual “Pathron Ka Mela”, a unique festival held a day after Diwali to uphold the centuries-old tradition.
•  The festival, marked by throwing of stones between two groups of villagers. As per traditions, the festival continues till blood starts oozing from the wound of an injured person. The villagers smear “tilak” of blood on the forehead of Goddess Kali.
• People from adjoining villages from Shimla and other places assembled in a large number on the Sports Ground. Former ruler of Dhami Jagdeep Singh arrived at the venue in a royal style and the festival started.
• There are many legends behind the celebration of the event. According to one legend, “Narbali” (human sacrifice) was offered to appease the goddess. The queen of Dhami put an end to this cruel custom by starting a new tradition of throwing stones at each other.
• As per tradition, the stone pelting takes place between residents of Halog and Jamog. They line up on either side of the circular structure and shower stones at each other. The fair begins when the priest of Narsingh Devta temple walks to the Kali temple accompanied by a team of musicians. Being injured is considered auspicious and one who bleeds during the pelting of stones is considered an honoured devotee of the goddess and his blood is smeared on the forehead of the goddess.

Brief introduction - Pathron Ka Mela :

• In a land where festivities and fairs are common occurrence, discovering bizarre and queer traditions seems perfectly tenable. Pathron Ka Mela (Festival of Stones) from Himachal Pradesh is also part of this league. It represents a strange gathering, where people pelt small stones at each other in a spirit of celebration. They get injured and the blood that pours from their wounds is used to smear a “tilka” on the forehead of Goddess Kali.
• The fair is held in the Halog village of tehsil Shimla, capital of erstwhile Dhami state. Halog is at a distance of 4kms from the 16-meel ka mod on the Shimla – Bilaspur road. The festival is celebrated generally on the day following Diwali.
• Hundreds of people from far-flung areas of Himachal congregate in Dhami village, 20 km from Shimla, and throw stones at each other during 'Pathron ka mela' (or, the stone fair), to follow an age-old tradition. During this fair, the youth from Halog, the erstwhile capital of Dhami, and neighbouring Jamog are divided into two groups, they then pelt stones at each other.
• "The stone fair started as a device to stop human sacrifice. The queen of Dhami directed that on the day following Diwali, people should hurl stones at each other. And when somebody gets injured and when he starts bleeding his blood is smeared on the idol of goddess Kali where the human sacrifice used to take place," says Raj Singh Kanwar, a 90-year-old villager. Legend has it that the ritual of stone-pelting was started by the King's family, only to end the then prevalent gruesome custom of human sacrifice at Dhami. After the festivities end, villagers also pay respects to a local deity, revered by most of the residents of Dhami

By: Pooja Sharda