"Words Count - Festival of Words" to kick off tomorrow

The Women's Reservation Bill, state of Indian Economy, and social media as a new portal into misogyny will be some of the topics of conversation at the "Words Count - Festival of Words" here.
The 3-day festival, which is set to begin from tomorrow at India Habitat Centre, will explore an array of topics spanning across varied genres including art, politics, culture and literature.
Curated by screenwriter and novelist Advaita Kala, the festival will witness host of sessions such as keynote address on the state of economy by minister Jayant Sinha, social media as a portal into misogyny by actor-politician Gul Panag among others.

Attempting to stand out from other literature festivals happening across the country, "Words Count" will tend to celebrate the use of words to promote understanding and civil discourse in the society.
"We witness several issues being discussed ever day on television channels but little comes out of them as conclusion. Through this festival we want to break that and have real conversations which have equal participation of the audience during the festival.
"It is all about exchange of ideas, concepts and ethos while keeping in view the ideological, gender and artistic diversity," Kala said.

The event, which is a new addition to the ongoing "Delhi International Arts Festival", will begin with discussion among first time writers including Shuchi Kalra, Aanchal Bahri, and Dimple Kaul, who will speak about their experiences while getting published.

Other sessions like "Exporting India's Soft Power- Words and More", "Does Social Media Win Elections?", "Has the Media been Modi-fied" among others will form a major part of the festival.
"The festival is all about making people understand the cultural nuances that shape our society. It is essential to have a conversation that allows discussion among people and this festival is directed in the same direction," political and policy professional Dilip Cherian said.
The festival will come to an end on November 24.