I was chafed- irritated by the moves of a young boy dancing on the tunes of Dhool and Nagara on the Bhagat Singh’s martyr day, also the day Arvind Kejriwal started his Civil Disobedience movement against Delhi State Government. I was in Sundarnagari, the place from where Arvind Kejriwal started his indefinite fast. Possibly, I was still doubtful of the advent of the Aam Aadmi in me, who was certainly not willing to take up these moves, normally associated with an ordinary man.

I had no clue what are the other traits which separate me from an ordinary man, but these steps were not mine- I was not yet fully Aam Aadmi. A man standing behind me puffed out a thick smoke of Biri, murmuring continuously a nationalistic song. I looked at him, yellow teeth and dried lips were unconvincing of the dreams I associated with the rise of Aam Aadmi party for a miraculous political transformation. I nudged my elbow against the smoking man, and moved into the pandal. Was the dream fading or was it untrue since its inception….?

In the pandal I saw a membership counter, a short queue of old women flooding the counter with their convoluted questions, some with flooding eyes too. The (wo) men on the other side of counter were trying to deal the flooding with some watertight response. Later, I could see few smiles following the trail. I went to one of those old ladies and asked the reason behind changing expression on her face. To my horror- the lady was a poor woman faultily charged with 22,000 bills for a small tea stall. She had been running pillar to post to get it corrected- efforts in vein. I asked her whether this is the right place she thinks, she can arrogate her rights. She said she was not sure of the place, but she wanted to join Aam Aadmi party and tell them about her sufferings. Her answer did not convince my ego. I tried to extract more out of her.

Inquisitiveness is not just a complex state of mind, it is also an undefined psychological process where one wants to learn and explore things. I am least aware of the theoretical understanding of curiosity and its functional underpinnings, what I was aware of was a chance of a rhetorical debate between an experienced lady versus an educated novice. Do you believe Aam Aadmi party can bring positive change to the current political turmoil, I asked her adding few ifs and buts with soupcon of trimmed and cultivated smile to assure myself that I have asked a complex question. She counter questioned, have you ever noticed ants movement? I gathered back my cultivated smile, though not similarly trimmed and replied to her a loud yes. So, I asked her how two are related? Her answers followed an exemplary understanding of the finer nuances of Human behavior.

She said ants can beat out any other creature of its size. They can outperform even powerful animals as far as hard work and commitment is in question. They built a complex co-operative society, where individuals attach their goals and priorities in the line with fellow members. What is called agreement of interests. She was talking about Community of Interest. A division on local self governance. She further said ants walk in a queue, following each other. I tried to interrupt with my scientific knowledge, I said yes, they release a chemical called pheromone which can be smelt by the following ants and follow the path. Unaware of technical words, she continued- they follow each other, not as interlinked components, but as individuals with their own share of activities. I looked around the pandal; there were people from all walks of life, youths, young ones, and old people, and probably from different fields. She was trying to fool me by comparing the complex adaptive system, a post modernist approach, to an Aam Aadmi movement.

I didn’t need to assure myself this time, as I was sure the debate will be over in five minutes. In this era of globalization and IT revolution, humans are more intended to be following complex system, like our machine does. She continued there are some ants that are soldier ants; they protect the interest of other ants by not allowing any intruders to rob off their benefits. We Aam Aadmi are like ants. We share a common goal of a corruption free society. Aam Aadmi Party is a hope for ordinary citizens who are not able to enjoy their rights and privileges. We can out-perform other people, if our interests are protected. We all are here not just because we have languished, but we are also here because we share common goal - a goal of right and just society. Arvind Kejriwal and fellows are like the soldier ants, trying to protect our interests.

Was the old lady right? Isn’t horizontal and vertical inequalities are pushing our citizen to function in a different manner. The complex adaptive system is true here; people are no more linear and predictive. They are trying to adapt to the changing demands of involvement. They are coming out of their houses to fight for reforms. Isn’t revolution like Aam Aadmi movement changes the paradigm of social conflict resolutions? Social conflicts between citizens- on one side are those who are not able to access their own privileges, and on the other side, who have privilege of access to things more than they are entitled to.

Isn’t revolution meant to change predictive, reductionist, determinist mindset of people? People are no more predictive, they are not willing to stand and vote in same manner as they used to do. They are asking questions about the system they have built through democratic process. Didn’t the ant and the Aam Aadmi’s movement defy the theory of reductionist? We can no longer say particular caste or community, professional group is going to vote for particular party. People as Components are no more a mere representative of complex human behavioral system. People from different social, cultural background are coming together, with their own set of activities but similar goals. It has been always part of system, but in this case people are joining voluntarily for change in politics. If politics is all about governance, people are willing to take the challenge to govern themselves. Aren’t people feeling the sense of power, unattached to the theory of determinist? People are taking up issues and social challenges; they no more are willing to submit their future to the destiny.

I was absorbed in to the ideas and theories, the uneducated women told me. She must have read Kant, Foucault, even Barthes or one doesn’t need to read all these thinkers and philosophers. A social movement is more powerful than the theories underlining such movements. Trying to Retain and reflect on her words, I could hear the beats of the Dhool and Nagaras coming close to me. I saw Jagdeep Singh (an ardent Aam Aadmi revolutionary) pointing his finger towards me. I just stepped up and my feet started to move and soon.
 
My steps inspired me ceaselessly to strive higher and higher toward the vibrant pinnacle of dancing. I wish Mithun Da or Vaslaw Nijinsky would have seen me, they must would have felt the same advent - Advent of an Aam Aadmi.