Better late

R.K.Narayan

About the Author: R.K.Narayan

R. K. Narayan , full name Rasipuram Krishnaswami

Narayanaswami, was an Indian writer, best known for
works set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi.
He is one of three leading figures of early Indian
literature in English.
Narayan broke through with the help of his mentor and
friend, Graham Greene.
The setting for most of Narayan's stories is the fictional
town of Malgudi, first introduced in Swami and Friends.
October 1906 13 MayHis
2001
narratives highlight social context and provide a fe
for his characters through everyday life.

Narayan's writing technique was unpretentious with a natural element of

ut it.It focused on ordinary people, reminding the reader of next-door
ghbors, cousins and the like, thereby providing a greater ability to relate
topic.


Novels:

List of works:

- Swami and friends

-The Bachelor of Arts and so on

Non-Fiction:
- Next Sunday
- My Days and so on

Mythology:
- The Ramayana
- The Mahabharata and so on

Short

Story:

- Malgudi days
- A Horse and two Goats and so on

Awards and Honors:

The Sahitya Akademi Award

Filmfare Award
Padma Vibhushan
AC Benson Medal
Nominated to the upper
house of the Indian Parliament
Nominated for the Nobel Prize
in Literature

ABOUT THE LESSON:

The

lesson is based on punctuality

and the time sense that many people
lack in India.

The speaker talks about the time

taken for the arrival of wisdom.

To explain about the time taken for a

judgment he gives various situations
like that of a Joint family, partnership
and government meetings.

Summary:
The

story begins with a situation

where a student arrives late to class
and when he is asked to explain his
conduct he says better late than
never, sir.
The author says that few things can
survive unpunctuality and few things
cannot.
The author mentions about a
gentleman who refuses to talk to
anyone who never keep their
promises.

Time sense

Punctuality

Unpunctuality

-Student
-Gentleman

-Carpenter

 The

author says that preoccupation is with

eternity and little measures of time are hardly
ever noticed in our country.
He mentions that wrist watch becomes a
mere ornament and not a guiding factor.
The speaker says that ladies never keep their
time.
The safest attitude to develop in our country
is to maintain a well regulated unpunctuality
without much damage to others.
We should not expect too much from others
and when we do even the most innocent
carpenter can give you a shock.

 Wisdom

is a thing that dawns habitually late.

The speaker says that the clever reply occurs
after the occasion, or the person to whom it is
to be addressed is no longer there.
The speaker faces hardship in taking on-thespot judgments.
Every practical transaction is a painful ordeal
for the speaker
He cannot say yes or no to anything without a
legal expert looking through the matter.
He says when he appended his signature he
never knew that he would loose his peace of
mind.

No
Agreement
Yes

The person
might feel
bad
Might look
mean and
calculating
Retain the
friendly
nature

The

speaker accepted to things just

because he thought that the other
person might feel bad.
He thought that if he showed
fickleness in giving his signature
he might look mean and
calculating and would spoil the
friendly nature.
He also mentions that a word of
mouth is enough for a
gentlemans agreement.
In actual life no situation is
irremediable.

Decision making:

Partnersh
ip
Governme
nt

The

speaker also mentions about the

way decisions are made in Joint
families regarding anything.
The mentioning of decision
partners take in a business firm
also explains about the time taken
for the arrival of wisdom.
In the same way government also
delays a lot of decisions in various
ways.

 The implication is one

needs time for a correct
judgment and neither a
yes nor a no could be
precipitately uttered.
The examples of joint
family, partnership and
government are
mentioned to show
that wisdom comes
late.

By:Group-1
Tanmayee
Manasvi
Aman Sekhar
Ambuj