India, Nov. 15 -- Even though, as an anchor, I ask questions for a living, I'm often placed on the spot by people who question me. Recently, one caught my attention because it was particularly striking. The questioner had closely observed me and reflected upon what he witnessed. Today, I've decided to answer in public.

"I'm perplexed by the way you usually address your guests", the question began. "Even when your guest is clearly senior and more important, you don't use the word Sir or Madam. Isn't that discourtesy? And yet when the guest is the same age and of a similar standing, you don't call them by their first names. Isn't that needless formality? What's the logic behind either of these ways of addressing people?"

My answer is simp...