Nikhil Kamath shared a simple observation that carried weight.
At an MBA campus, being addressed as “sir” by 25-year-olds triggered a realization. Not about respect, but about time.
He described the contrast directly. Not long ago, he was the youngest in most rooms. Now the perception has flipped.
When Time Becomes Visible
The reaction was not about a word. It was about what the word represents.
A shift from participant to reference point. From peer to authority. From present to passage.
His line, “life is short, even if nothing crazy happens,” captures the compression. Not events, but time itself accelerates.
The Internet Recognizes the Pattern
The response online reflected a shared experience.
People pointed out how quickly identity changes in professional environments. Titles replace names. Familiarity gives way to formality.
Some pushed back on the culture itself, questioning the continued use of “sir” and “madam” in modern workplaces, suggesting simpler, more direct forms of respect.
Age in the Era of Speed
The underlying tension is not just biological aging. It is contextual aging.
Technology cycles move faster. Careers compress. Milestones arrive earlier.
The result is a distorted sense of time, where progression feels accelerated even when nothing dramatic happens.
More Than a Passing Thought
Nikhil Kamath’s reflection resonates because he does not try to turn it into a lesson or package it as advice. Instead, he simply acknowledges a feeling that many people experience but rarely say out loud.
At first, the change seems small. A younger person calls you “sir.” A conversation feels slightly different. Then, slowly, you realize that the way others see you has shifted, and once that perception changes, time seems to move with it.
