New Delhi, Nov. 9 -- While Diwali celebrations across India are associated with diyas, fireworks, sweets and family gatherings, a village in Himachal Pradesh marks the festival with a centuries-old ritual involving something rather unusual - stone-pelting between two groups of people.

On Monday, a day after Diwali was celebrated on Sunday, hundreds of people gathered at Halog village in Dhami, near Shimla, to witness the traditional 'Pathar Mela' or 'Patharon Ka Khel'. The unusual annual event involves two groups throwing stones at each other, with the ritual ending only when a participant sustains an injury and blood is drawn.

The blood is then used to apply a ceremonial tilak to Goddess Bhadrakali, according to the local religious tra...