Utkarsh Goklani, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, pointed to what he called a “bigger, more unsettling truth” in a LinkedIn post about Nikhil Kamath’s recent WTF podcast with tech millionaire Bryan Johnson.
Johnson, known for his anti-ageing research, arrived armed with an N95 mask and an air quality meter reading of 130—a level “considered a good air day in India,” Goklani wrote.
Yet the real surprise wasn’t just the mask or the meter reading. It was the reaction of those around Johnson. Goklani wrote, “While Bryan sat there, masked up, the Indians around him laughed it off… And by no means am I deriding them. I respect all of them deeply. But what this moment highlights is a bigger, more unsettling truth. Our collective apathy towards our most basic needs.”
He further noted, “We’ve been trained well. Trained to accept the unacceptable. Trained to live in slow, invisible decay.”
Despite some of India’s biggest names in business and fitness present, the poor air quality seemed more like a backdrop than a crisis.
Goklani underscored the toll this indifference could take, stating, “We are losing 12 years of our lives due to the poor air quality.” In his view, complacency has become so entrenched that “guess how many times air pollution was mentioned in the Union Budget? Zero. Zilch. Nada… Not a passing reference. Not even a token allocation.”
For Johnson, this moment was unlivable; he ended the podcast early, citing eye and throat irritation. But Goklani’s concern cuts deeper, suggesting India’s air isn’t just about breathing easy; it’s about confronting a silent crisis that too many have learned to live with.
As he quipped, “But sure, let’s celebrate the ₹80,000 tax savings. Because that and much more will come in handy, when we are paying our hospital bills.”