Summary of R. K. Narayan’s Better Late

Introduction

R.K. Narayan is one of the pioneers of Indian writing in English.  He has written many novels and short stories.  All his stories are simple in its subject and in language.  Better Late is a prose, which talks about punctuality in Indian context.  R.K. Narayan prefers to do things a bit late than being punctual.

Student’s Explanation for Late Coming

            The author opens essay by quoting an incident: a student comes to the class regularly late.  When the teacher asks for the reason, the student replies as ‘better late than never’.  The teacher accepts the reason because the student has not dropped his education altogether. 

Writer’s Opinion on Delay and Unpunctuality

            The speaker accepts a little delay and unpunctuality in daily life.  Circumstances lead to such delays.  Punctuality is expecting too much from others.  Expectations always deceive us.  According to the author most things can survive a little delay.

Indian Punctuality

            In Indian context punctuality is something that is never to be expected.  If we tend to expect punctuality then even a carpenter would give shock to us.  If we ask a carpenter to do a work for us and he would promise to do the work the next day, we should not be particular about the timing.  We should give him about 15 days or more for the work to be carried out.  He would not forget his promise but he must have said the same to others.  He would some day or the other finish the work because he needs money.

Time in Contracts and Agreements

            The author strongly believes that wisdom comes late.  When we talk to a person or face a situation, we would think of better ideas or dialogue after a long time.  So the author thinks that it is better to postpone certain things for better results.  When the author was in a critical situation he would delay making a decision so that he may not suffer due to wrong decisions.  He gives joint families as an example, wherein it is easy to postpone things by saying that we have to consult with someone in the family and that someone will never be available.  This happens in business when we say that we have to consult our partner.

Wrist Watch

The author gives a man who is time conscious.  He is time conscious because he is wearing a costly wristwatch.  He often stares at his watch and complain people who are not punctual.  A watch in our context must be a mere ornament and not a guiding factor.  Women’s watch are said to be ideal, because the dial in it is small and they would not let the time clearly and easily.  They permit a little delay in doing things.

Committees in Government

            Most times the government postpone certain threats and troubles by forming committees.  Committees will spend more time in eating and by doing many odd things rather being constructive.  They delay their work to an extent that the urgency or the need of currency will be forgotten and people will be busy with some other work.

Conclusion

            This is a personal essay, which reflects R.K. Narayan’s ideas about punctuality.