THE TIGER KING

Kalki -

VERY SHORT ANSWER

1.(a) Who is the Tiger King?

Ans: The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, Jung Bahadur, is the Tiger King.

(b) Why does the Tiger King get his name?

Ans: He got his name Tiger King because on his birth-it was predicted by the astrologer that his
death would come from the tiger.

(c) What is a Stuka bomber?

Ans: Stuka is a bombing aeroplane.

(d) What is the natural desire among men regarding the Tiger King?

Ans: The natural desire among men was to meet Tiger King face to face.

(e) Why can the natural desire to meet the 'Tiger King' not be fulfilled?

Ans: The desire to meet the Tiger King cannot be fulfilled because he is dead.

(f)From which epic are the mythical characters of Bharata, Rama and Dasaratha taken?

Ans: The mythical characters of Bharata, Rama and Dasaratha are taken from the Hindu epic 'The
Ramayana'.

(g) What did the astrologers foretell about the "Tiger King'?2017

Ans: The astrologer foretold that as the king was born in the hour of the Bull, so his death would come
from the Tiger for the Bull and the Tiger are enemies.

(h) What was the secret about the 'Tiger King' which the astrologers were compelled to reveal?

Ans: The secret about the Tiger King which the astrologers were compelled to reveal was the manner in
which he would meet his death. They revealed that his death would come from a tiger.

(i) Give another word for 'enunciated', 'harakiri'?

Ans: Enunciated: pronounced or said clearly

Harakiri: ceremonious suicide using a sword.

(j) How did the chief astrologer caution the Tiger King after he had killed his first tiger?

Ans: The chief astrologer cautioned the Tiger King that after killing ninety-nine tigers he must be very
careful with hundredth tiger.
(k) What did the chief astrologer profess to do if the Tiger King killed the hundredth tiger?

Ans: The chief astrologer professed to cut off his tuft, crop his hair and become an insurance agent if the
Tiger King succeeded in killing the hundredth tiger.

(l) Why was it celebration time for all the tiger inhabiting Pratibandapuram?

Ans: It was a celebration time for all the tigers living in Pratibandapuram because the tiger king banned
tiger hunting by anyone except himself and as such they would get the honour of being killed by the
royal gun.

(m) Why is it said that the Maharaja's tiger hunts were highly successful?

Ans: The Maharaja's tiger hunts were highly successful for he was able to kill seventy tigers in ten years.

(n) What was the price of the wooden toy tiger?

Ans: The price of the wooden toy tiger was only two annas and a quarter.

(a) What did the royal infant utter in his little squeaky voice?

Ans: The royal infant uttered in squeaky voice that man did not need predictions to know that he would
die one day for death is inevitable for all. Predictions might have some sense,it is needed to predict
the manner of that death.

(b) What explanation was given by the chief astrologer to the query of the little Tiger King?

Ans: The chief astrologer in reply to the query of the little Tiger King explained that he was born in the
hour of Bull and as the Bull and the tiger are enemies his death would come from a tiger.

(c) What did the Tiger King pronounce when he heard that his death would be caused by a Tiger?

Ans: When the little Tiger King heard that his death would come from a tiger he did not shudder with
fear, he rather warned the tigers to beware of him.

(d) What was easier to find than tigers, after the Tiger King killed the ninety-ninth tiger?

Ans: After killing ninety-nine tiger there was practically few tigers left in the forest of his kingdom and his
father-in-law's kingdom. So the author humourously observed that it seemed easier to find tiger's milk
than to find a live tiger anywhere.

(e) Who were Khader Mian Saheb and Virasami Naicker?

Ans : Khader Mian Saheb and Virasami Naicker were two notorious cattle thieves both famed for their
ability to swallow sheep whole.

(l) What was the happy news for the Tiger King after a long time?

Ans: The happy news for the Tiger King was that after a long time sheep began to disappear regularly
from a hillside village which was presumed to be a tiger's work. It meant that the Tiger King had finally
found the hundredth tiger that he disparately wanted to kill.

(m) How did Tiger King growth?

Ans: The Tiger King's childhood was not marked by other event except the prediction at his birth that his
death would come from a tiger. In his childhood he drank the milk of an English cow, was brought up by
an English nanny, tutored by the Englishman, saw nothing but English films- exactly as the crown princes
of all other Indian states did.

(n) Why was there no objection to the killing at tiger?

Ans: Everyone in the kingdom of the Tiger King remembered the astrologer's prediction that his death
would be caused by a tiger. People discussed it and slowly it came to the Maharaja's ear. The Maharaja
knew that one could even kill cow in self defence. So there could be no objection to killing tigers in self-
defence. The Maharaja started out on a tiger hunt.

(o) What were the various dangers faced by the Tiger King in his hunting spree?

Ans: The Tiger King faced various dangers while hunting tigers. There were times when the bullet missed
its mark, the tiger jumped on him and he fought the animal with his bare hands. Each time it was the
Maharaja who won.

(p) What did the Maharaja do to appease the British officer whom he prevented from hunting tigers?

Ans: By preventing a high-ranking British officer from hunting tigers in his state, he stood in danger of
losing his kingdom itself. After discussing the problem with his Dewan the Maharaja ordered a famous
British company of jewellers in Calcutta to send some samples of expensive diamond rings of different
designs. Fifty rings were sent. The Maharaja sent them all to the British officers's wife and expected that
she would choose one or two and return the rent. But she kept them all. The Maharaja had to pay three
lakh rupees for them, but he had managed to retain his kingdom.

(q) What did the Dewan do about procuring a tiger on pain of losing his job?

Ans: The dewan for fear of losing his job brought a tiger from the People's Park in Madras and kept
hidden in his house. At midnight he took the tiger in a car to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting
and left it there. On the following day the same old tiger wandered into the Maharaja presence. Thus the
dewan managed to get for the Maharaja the hundredth tiger for him to kill.

(r)How did the hundredth tiger die?

Ans: When the Maharaja saw the hundredth tiger in front of him he took a careful aim and shot the
beast. He was overjoyed as his vow to kill hundred tigers was fulfilled. Ordering the tiger to be brought
to the capital in a grand procession he left the forest.After he had left, the hunters discovered that the
tiger was not really dead.It had merely fainted from the shock of the bullet whizzing past. The hunters
dared not to inform the king that he had missed his target.So one of the hunters killed the tiger. Thus
the hundredth tiger was never killed by him, though he did not know it.

1.Why was the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram called the "Tiger King'? How did his campaign of tiger
hunting continue? How was he avenged by the hundredth tiger?
Ans: The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was better known as the "Tiger King'. People say that at the time
of his birth astrologer predicted that his death would come from a tiger and that the ten day old king
then warned the tiger to beware of him. Since then he came to be known by that name.

He knew about the prediction of the astrologer. At the age of twenty when the state came into his
hands, he started a campaign of tiger hunt in his self-defence. Within ten years he killed seventy tigers.
But by that time tiger population in his state became extinct. Then the Maharaja devised a plan to carry
on his campaign of tiger hunt. He married a girl of a royal family of a state with a large tiger population
and continued his campaign. Soon his tally reached ninety nine.

The astrologer in his forecast also told him to be careful about the hundredth tiger. If he succeeded in
killing the hundredth tiger then there would be no danger to his life. He infact shot at the hundredth
tiger, but he did not know that he had missed his target. After this incident he bought a wooden tiger-toy
as a birthday gift for his two year old son. As he and his little son were playing with the toy tiger a tiny
sliver of wood pierced Maharaja's right hand. Soon infection spread all over his right arm. Surgeons from
Madras operated him but could not save him. Thus he was avenged by the hundredth tiger as foretold by
the astrologer.

2.Draw a character sketch of the Tiger King in your own words.

Ans: Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur, better known as the Tiger King, was the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram.
At the time of his birth the astrologers predicted that his death would come from a tiger. When he
assumed the charge of the kingdom on attaining the age of twenty he decided to kill tigers in self
defence. After killing the first tiger he sought the opinion of the astrologer and he was told that he might
even kill ninety-nine and cautioned him to be careful with the hundredth. From that day onwards killing
tiger became the only mission of life and vowed he would not attend any other matter till he killed the
hundredth tiger.

His tiger hunts, in spite of occasional drawbacks, were immensely successful and he killed seventy tigers
in ten years when the tiger population of his kingdom became almost extinct. With a view to fulfilling his
vow of killing hundred tigers he married a girl of a royal family from a state that had a large tiger
population. And soon his tally reached ninety- nine. Now he became impatient to kill the hundredth. But
it became difficult locate tigers anywhere. As days passed the Maharaja's fury and obstinacy crossed
limit. He called the dewan and ordered him to double the land tax. The dewan understood that if
Maharaja did not get the tiger there would be havoc. So he brought a tiger from People's Park in Madras
and put it in the forest where the Maharaja was camping. With boundless joy the Maharaja to took a
careful aim and shot it. Then he left for the capital ordering the tiger to be brought to the capital. He did
not know that he missed his target. But it could not be disclosed before the Maharaja. One of the men
killed tiger and kept it a secret.

A few days later the Maharaja bought a wooden tiger toy as a birth day gift for his two year old son.
While playing with it a sliver of the toy pierced the Maharaja's hand and it became the cause of his death
a few days later.Thus the hundredth tiger took its final revenge upon the tiger king.

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