THE TIGER KING

- KALKI

INTRODUCTION:

The story ‘The Tiger King’ is a satire on the pride and stubbornness of those in
power. The writer takes us to the days of autocratic and eccentric kings. These
kings lived under the thumb rule of British, hence they fear them. Most of the time
the rulers were not interested in serving the people and working for the welfare of
the public; instead they spent their time in foolish pursuits. They flouted all laws
and bent them to suit their selfish interests.

THEME:
Callousnous nature of rulers towards animals

CHARACTERS:

• The Tiger King- a hero of the story, the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, also
known as His Highness Jamedar.

• Chief Astrologer – a royal foreteller of the state.

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I SHORT ANSWERS:

1. How did the Tiger King acquire his name?

Ans: The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was often referred to as the Tiger King. He
got this name because, when he was born, a prophecy was made that his death
would come from a tiger. He killed ninety-nine tigers. Ironically, his death
occurred due to a wooden toy tiger.

2. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in his state?

Ans: The Maharaja banned hunting in his state selectively. No one except him was
allowed to hunt the tigers thereby, ensuring that he was able to work on his target
of killing hundred tigers to prove the state astrologer wrong and to live long.

3. What made the chief astrologer place his finger on his nose?

Ans: When the baby Maharaja was only ten days old, he opened his lips in speech
and raised intelligent questions to the chief astrologer. He asked him about the
manner of his death. This made the chief astrologer place his finger on his nose in
wonder.

4. What warning did the astrologer give the Tiger King when he killed the
first tiger? Did the predictions of the astrologer come to be true?

Ans: When the Maharaja killed the first tiger, the astrologer warned him again. He
told him to be very cautious with the hundredth tiger. Yes, his prediction came
true. The Maharaja was not able to kill the hundredth tiger.

5. When did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom?

Ans: The Maharaja had banned the killing of tigers in Pratibandapuram. So he

6. How did the dewan manage to arrange the hundredth tiger for the
Maharaja?

Ans: The dewan had brought the hundredth tiger from the people‟s park, Madras to
retain his post. At midnight, the dewan and his wife took the tiger to the forest
where the Maharaja was hunting and left it there.

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7. How did the Tiger King ‘Kill’ the hundredth tiger?

Ans: When the Tiger King shot at the tiger, the bullet actually missed its target, but
the old tiger fainted from the shock of the bullet whizzing past it. So, the tiger
appeared to be dead, it was only unconscious. Thus, the Maharaja thought he had
killed the tiger, it was not so. Later on it was killed by one of the hunters
accompanying the Maharaja.

8. What considerations influenced the Tiger King to get married?

Ans: When the Tiger King had killed seventy tigers, he faced a problem of tiger
scarcity. Pratibandapuram did not have more tigers left for him to kill. He then
decided to get married to a suitable girl from another kingdom which had a large
tiger population. This would ensure his access to a steady supply of tigers to kill.

9. What was wrong in the Tiger King’s logic of killing all tigers?

Ans: The Tiger King vowed to kill a hundred tigers because the chief astrologer
asked him to be careful of the hundredth tiger as it would bring the king his fall.
The flaw in the logic was that the Tiger King only calculated all the living tigers in
his count. He didn‟t count the wooden toy tigers which would eventually prove to
be fatal.

10. How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his fate?

Ans: The manner of the Tiger King‟s death is a matter of extraordinary interest
because it is ironical that, although he killed 99 live tigers, a harmless wooden toy
tiger caused his death, as a tiny silver of wood on it pierced the Maharaja‟s right
hand. It became infected and the Maharaja died due to the infection. Thus, his
death was destined and he failed to survive the ominous prediction.

II LONG ANSWER:

1. How did the hundredth tiger take its final revenge upon the Tiger King?
(Or) How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his
death?

Ans: When the Maharaja‟s son third birthday was celebrated, the king turned his
attention to the child. Until then the Maharaja had given his entire mind over to
tiger hunting. He had no time to spare for the crown prince so he wished to give

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him some special gift on his birthday. He went to the shopping centre in
Pratibandapuram and searched every shop, but couldn‟t find anything suitable.
Finally he spotted a wooden tiger in a toyshop and decided it was the perfect gift.

The wooden tiger cost only two annas and a quarter. But the shopkeeper knew that
if he quoted such a low price to the Maharaja, he would be punished under the
rules of the Emergency. So, he said its cost as three hundred rupees.

Saying let that toy be his offering to the crown prince on his birthday.the king took
it away with him. On that day father and son played with that tiny little wooden
tiger. It had been carved by an unskilled carpenter. Its surface was rough; tiny
slivers of wood stood up like quills all over it. One of those slivers pierced the
Maharaja‟s right hand. He pulled it out with his left hand and continued to play with
the prince.

The next day, infection flared in the Maharaja‟s right hand. In four days, it
developed into a suppurating sore which spread all over the arm.

Three famous surgeons were brought in from Madras to perform an operation.The

In this manner the hundredth tiger took its final revenge upon the Tiger King.

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