Is being called Sir really a terrific thing?

I am blessed truly, I believe because I am growing wiser as I grow old. Not many people reach there. One of the perks being an expert in multiple fields of communication is that I am called upon to conduct workshops or keynotes on topics ranging from blogging to what not.

And they all call me sir. Not only who those attend or organize these workshops but generally too, so many people seek me out for advice and they are like Sir or Tushar Sir. And honestly speaking, I am always unsure about how to react to this.

We in India grow up as Britishers taught us like for 100 years . Sir, Ma'am is ingrained in our psyche. Even though the Britishers themselves use the term as honorific title generally knighted upon someone. I have no doubt people do call me Sir with respect, but in our modern times is the prefix (or suffix) relevant?

I worked in an MNC where everyone called each other by their first name.I moved on to an Indian Startup where we have a mixed bag of people half of those who call each other sir or ma'am and others who prefer first names.

It means different things to different people. But my ego is not flattered by people calling me Sir. I can look at someone and know how much the other person does respect me. A word means little to me. Except that it's humbling at times.

And these are the times when I don't know how to react. Especially when people insist and feel that it makes for a formal and distinguished atmosphere.

Comments

Epitome of Equality

First of all This is not to demean any religion.. I am a Hindu by birth, but yes I respect all religions .I offer my daily prayers , fast on holy days , but there was something that was disturbing me . God as per me was a Friend, someone who was by my side always , someone who was a dear friend , but this is not what everyone else thought , for others he was the Judge who gives his verdict always and punishes anyone and everyone . Walk into any temple and you would see , if you have money , you will be treated in a way as if you are the ONLY disciple of the God . I have had too many experiences where I was treated as a second class citizen in the temple . Why? Well I could not afford giving thousands as donation. This is not how it should be , God looks at each one of us with the same divinity .As I mentioned God for me is a friend, so tell me, do we chose friends based on their bank balances? Do we give our verdict on them ? then how can God do it? I know many of us would ...

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