The Tiger King
1. What did the royal infant grow up to be?
Ans: The royal infant grew taller and stronger day by day. The boy
drank the milk of an English cow. He was tutored by an Englishman.
He saw nothing but English films. At the age of twenty, the state came
into his hands. He grew up to be a good hunter and marksman.
2. What will the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to
kill?
Ans: The Maharaja's tiger hunts continued to be highly successful. He
killed seventy tigers within ten years. But the tiger population in his
kingdom became extinct. He wanted to marry in the royal family of a
state with a large tiger population. The dewan found the right girl. In
this way, he was able to kill ninety tigers.
3. How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which
was supposed to decide his fate?
Ans: The Maharaja had killed 99 tigers. Only one more was left. The
hundredth tiger was nowhere to be found. The dewan realized the
gravity of the situation and made the arrangement. A tiger had been
brought from the Peoples Park in Madras. It was left in the forest
where the Maharaja was hunting. The Maharaja could conveniently
shoot it to complete his tally of a hundred tigers.
4. What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy
was indisputably disproved?
Ans: No harm will be done to the astrologer. Actually, the Maharaja
will not be able to kill the hundredth tiger. It survived only to be killed
by a hunter. So the Maharaja will not fulfill his mission of killing
hundredth tigers. No, the prophecy is not totally disproved. Ironically,
the hundredth tiger, though made of wood takes its revenge upon the
Maharaja. The hundredth tiger is the cause of his death.
5. How was at one time the Maharaja in danger of losing his throne?
Ans: At one time the Maharaja was in danger of losing his throne. A
high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He was very fond
of hunting tigers and being photographed with them. He was refused
permission to hunt tigers. The Maharaja had prevented such a high-
ranking officer from fulfilling his desire. The Maharaja stood in danger
of losing his Kingdom itself.
6. How did the Maharaja manage to retain his Kingdom?
Ans: The Maharaja had to please and bribe the high-ranking British
officer. Samples of expensive diamond rings of different designs were
brought from a famous jeweler in Calcutta. The Maharaja sent all the
fifty rings to the British officer's good lady. The lady accepted the
whole lot. The Maharaja lost three lahks of rupees but managed to
retain his kingdom.
7. How did the Maharaja solve the problem of killing the remaining
thirty tigers? What was his marriage plan?
Ans: The Maharaja asked his dewan to draw up figures of tiger
populations in the different native states. He could marry a royal
family with a large tiger population. The dewan found out the right
girl. The Maharaja killed five or six tigers each time he visited his
father-in-law. ultimately, he was able to kill ninety tigers in all.
8. Why did the dewan warn the Maharaja not to double the land tax
forthwith? What was the reaction of the Maharaja?
Ans: The hundredth tiger was not located. The angry Maharaja called
the dewan and ordered him to double the land tax forthwith. The
dewan warned that the people would rise in revolt. Then their state
too would fall prey to the Indian National Congress. The Maharaja
didn't relent. He told the dewan that in that case, he might resign
from his post.
9. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in his Kingdom?
. Ans: The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja
because he didn't want anyone to reduce the limited population of
tigers.
A high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He was very
fond of hunting tigers and being photographed with them.He was
refused permission to hunt tigers. The Maharaja had prevented such a
high-ranking officer from fulfilling his desire.
