THE TIGER KING – LESSON (VISTAS)

By – Kalki
(NOTES FOR WRITING)
About the author:

 Kalki Krishnamurthy (1899 —1954), better known by his pen name Kalki, was a Tamil writer,
journalist, poet, critic and Indian independence activist. His writings include over 120 short
stories, 10 novelettes, 5 novels, 3 historical romances, editorial and political writings,
biographies, travelogues and hundreds of film and music reviews.

Summary

The Maharaja Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur was called “Tiger King”. When he was just 10 days
old, he asked intelligent questions to the astrologers and was told that he would be killed by
a tiger. He uttered “Let tigers beware!” No other miracle took place, the child grew like any
other Royal child drinking white cow’s milk. He was taught by an English tutor and looked
after by an English nanny. He watched English films.

When he was 20, he was crowned as king. It was then the prediction of his death by the tiger
reached the Maharaja’s ear and he in turn to safe guard himself killed a tiger and being
thrilled he told the astrologer who replied that he can kill 99 tigers but should be careful with
the 100th. He pledged that all other affairs of the state would be attended after killing the
hundred tigers. Then he started killing tigers. None except Maharaja was allowed to hunt
tigers.

A high-ranking British officer visited the state that was fond of hunting tigers and his wish was
declined. The officer requested for getting a photograph with a tiger killed by Maharaja and
this request was rejected. So to please the officer’s wife, he sent 50 diamond rings expecting
that she would take one or two, instead she kept all the rings costing 3 lakh rupees and sent
‘thanks’ to the Maharaja. But his state was secured. In 10 years, he killed 70 tiger and didn’t
find any in Pratibandapuram so he decided to marry a girl from royal state which had more
tigers to complete his target. Whenever he visited his in-laws, he killed 5-6 tigers. So, he killed
99 tigers and was feverishly anxious to kill the 100th but couldn’t find. News about the
presence of a tiger near a village proved disappointing. He asked his Dewan to find the tiger
otherwise face his anger.

Now the Dewan was afraid of losing his job so he visited ‘People’s Park in Madras’ and
brought an old tiger and placed it in the forest and informed the Maharaja. The Maharaja
took great care and shot the tiger and left the place with great triumph. The bullet did not hit
the tiger but out of fear the tiger had collapsed. Now the staff killed the tiger and brought it
in grand procession. It was the third birthday of the Maharaja’s son and he wanted to buy a
present from the toyshop. He bought a wooden tiger which was poorly carved. While the
Maharaja was playing with the prince, a tiny sliver of the wooden tiger pierced his right hand
which later on caused his death. Thus the hundredth tiger takes his final revenge upon the
“Tiger King”.

Answer the following:

1.  The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. How does the author employ the
literary device of dramatic irony in the story?

Ans.  [‘Conceit’ means an extremely favourable and high opinion of one’s own abilities and
worth, while ‘satire’ refers to the use of irony, humour, exaggeration or ridicule to
expose and criticize stupidity and vices of people in a particular context or situation.]
The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. The king is known to be an
extremely conceited person right from the beginning. As a ten-day-old infant, he
pronounced the words, “Let tigers beware!” By challenging the astrologer’s prediction,
he also challenges his death. Moreover, killing seventy tigers within a period of ten
years and bringing the entire species close to extinction, marrying for the convenience
of killing more tigers, exercising his authority to punish or tax people according to his
whims and fancies, flaunting his power and richness in sending about fifty rings to the
British officer’s lady or paying a bill of three lakh rupees, having a temper that would
make other people lose their job or even life etc., are all part of this conceit. He does
nothing for the sake of his people in the capacity of a king. All this has been highlighted
in the story using humour, irony and exaggeration.
Death is an inevitable phenomenon associated with the life itself. Challenging death on
the basis of prediction by astrologers is as good as a wasted effort. Even after the
monumental task of killing ninety-nine tigers, the hundredth tiger escaped being shot
by the king’s gun. Unaware of this, he dies merely because of a “tiny little wooden
tiger” and not by any ferocious living creature like a tiger. Thus, the dramatic irony
surfaces strongly at the end of the story when the readers realise what the king never
does.

2.  What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness
of human beings? (The Tiger King)

Ans.  The author uses satire in his story to talk about the indiscriminate killing of tigers. The
entire species of tigers have become extinct at the state of Pratibandapuram and that
of his wife’s native state by the time the king himself dies. What is pointed in a subtle
manner is that these killings are a result of mere whims and fancies? They do not have
any logical explanation in the face of the inevitable status of death. Moreover, the
silence on the death of tigers itself draws a strong correlation between the life of the
king and that of the ninety-nine tigers killed by him.
Besides, no second thought is ever given while killing the tigers. There is also an implicit
 suggestion of killings for preserving the vainglory of humans in the British officer’s
request for a photograph with a dead tiger. It is as if these animals’ existence is at stake
for more than one reason and for no fault of their own. The absurdity highlighted in the
killings, by the author, also makes the readers wonder if these animals deserve more
security than human beings.

3.  How would you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions towards him? Do you
find them truly sincere towards him or are they driven by fear when they obey him? Do
we find a similarity in today’s political order?

Ans. Maharaja's minions were servile towards him primarily because of his fury and
obstinacy which might result in either losing their jobs for no apparent fault of theirs or
facing unjustified punishments. No one dared to take the risk of explaining the
consequences of the killings to the king or give him any right suggestion or advice. No
one tried to argue any of his decision – be it the annihilation of tigers or marrying for
the sake of availing further opportunity for tiger-hunt. No one questioned his neglect of
duties towards his people or state.  They simply did not wish to interfere and were
happy to comply lest they should face the consequences. They merely had to submit to
his whims and fancies as they existed purely for that very reason. The simple reasoning
was that if they cannot do an assigned job, they did not deserve to be in the job. Even
his dewan was asked to resign from his post when he tried to point out the
impracticality of doubling the taxes collected from people. All his subordinates lived in a
piteous state of constant terror of him so much so that the shopkeeper couldn't
communicate the original price of an item, the hunters couldn't inform him about the
hundredth tiger being alive and even his dewan had to stealthily arrange for a tiger to
be brought from Chennai. Their sincerity to him, if any, was always shown overpowered
by the fear of their king.
Yes, there are lots of similarities between Maharaja's story and the present political
order. People are discontented as those in power seem to be indifferent to their welfare
and that of the state and ecology. Selfish aims and concerns guide decisions, and mere
whims and fancies can change the situation of law and order. Those who try to bring
some positive reform may also not be able to do so as they fear to lose their jobs or
facing other dire consequences. Taxes taken from the public are also constantly
misappropriated. Reforms either do not materialize or do so at an extremely slow pace.
Yet, the best part is that the real situation is not as bleak as in the story. There are
people working for the benefit and welfare of their community and society, and positive
changes do happen.

Can you relate instances of game-hunting among the rich and the powerful in the present
4.  times that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife?
Ans.  There have been some instances of game hunting in the present times. Even the
affluent have been involved in instances that illustrate the callousness of human beings
towards wildlife.
Salman Khan – Black Buck poaching case.
Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi - Antelope case.

5.  We need a new system for the age of ecology – a system which is embedded in the care of
all people and also in the care of the Earth and all life upon it. Discuss.

Ans.  A new system, embedded in the care not only of all people but also of the Earth and life
upon it, is required to preserve and sustain Nature’s balance at both national and
international levels. Formulating rules for the preservation of endangered species or
assigning funds for the conservation of wildlife or imposing a ban on hunting and
poaching is not enough. People need to be made aware of the repercussions of
exploiting nature and its creatures through various awareness campaigns held at
schools, colleges and important public gatherings using the media of street-plays,
television, films and documentaries, etc. People must be made to understand that
every creature has a prominent role in the ecological cycle and no one has the right to
kill other life forms or destroy their habitats. Restoration of Nature’s balance as well as
a proper system of sustainable development, therefore, has to be followed without fail
or intermittent lapses. All the reasons for ecological imbalance like deforestation, rapid
industrialization, soil erosion, etc. need to be addressed before global warming and
other climatic hazard or natural calamity takes its toll.

MORE QUESTIONS FOR REFERENCE

(NOT FOR WRITING)

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question.1. What gave the astrologers the greatest surprise of their life while they
were studying the horoscope of the ten-day old prince?

Answer. When the astrologers were reading the horoscope of the little prince, they
were taken by surprise when the ten-day old infant asked about the manner of his
death. When the chief astrologer told him that a tiger would be the cause of his death,
the baby retorted with arrogance, “Let the tigers beware!”

Question.2. How did the Maharaja please a high-ranking officer?

Answer. A high-ranking British officer visited the state of Pratibandapuram and sought
permission for tiger hunting from the Maharaja. The Maharaja declined his request, but
as he did not want to upset the officer, he sent fifty diamond rings to the officer’s wife
which cost the king three, lakh rupees.

Question.3. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state?

Answer. As the prince was crowned the king, the astrologer’s prediction regarding his
(the king’s) death by a tiger reached his ears. This prompted the Maharaja to kill a tiger
but the astrologer informed him that he had to successfully kill hundred tigers to
escape the prophecy. Thus, in order to reach that mark, the Maharaja banned tiger
hunting in the state except for himself.

Question.4. Why did the Maharaja decide to get married?

or
What is the reason lor the Tiger King’s sudden decision to marry?

Answer. In order to defeat the astrologer’s prophecy, the Maharaja had to kill a
hundred tigers. He had already killed seventy tigers and the tiger population in his state
neared extinction. For this reason, he wished to marry a girl in the royal family of a
state with a rich tiger population, where he would kill the rest of the tigers.

Question.5. Why did the Maharaja double the land tax?

Answer. The Maharaja had successfully killed ninety-nine tigers but struggled hard to
find the hundredth tiger. Once, there came a news of a tiger being spotted at a hillside
village but it turned out to be untrue. This infuriated the Maharaja, who ordered the
dewan to double the land tax in order to punish the villagers for the false news.

Question.6. How did the Tiger King become the victim of the hundredth tiger?

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

Answer. The Tiger King met his end through the wooden tiger, which he had bought as
a gift for his son on his third birthday. While he was playing with his son, a splinter of
the poorly made toy tiger pricked the king’s hand. The infection turned into a sore,
which spread all over his arm. In spite of the best surgeons, the king’s life could not be
saved.
The irony is in the fact that in spite of killing nearly all the tigers in the area, he had to
face his death by a toy tiger.

Question.7. What, sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the high-ranking
British officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal?

Answer. Tiger hunting was banned in Pratibandapuram. When the British official came
with a tiger hunt request, the Maharaja told him that he may conduct a boar hunt, a
mouse hunt, even a mosquito hunt, but not a tiger hunt. In reply to this, the British
officer said that he only wanted to be photographed holding a gun and standing ewer
the dead body; the tiger could be killed by the Maharaja. This shows the shallowness of
character of the officer.

Question.8. Why was the Maharaja so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger?

Answer. When the Maharaja was barely ten days old, the chief astrologer had
predicted that a tiger would be the cause of his death. When the Maharaja was twenty,
he killed one tiger. When he asked his astrologer, the astrologer said that he would kill
ninety-nine tigers, but he should be fearful of the hundredth tiger. That was the reason
why the Maharaja was so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger.

Question.9. What warning did the astrologer give the Tiger King when he killed the first
tiger? Did the prediction of the astrologer come to be true?

Answer. When the Maharaja boasted about killing the first tiger, the astrologer said
that he may kill’ ninety-nine tigers, but must be “very careful with the hundredth tiger.”
Yes, the astrologer was absolutely true in this prediction, because finally the Maharaja
was killed by the hundredth tiger.

Question.10. How did the Dewan manage to arrange the hundredth tiger for the
Maharaja?

Answer. The Dewan had brought a tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and kept it
hidden in his house. When the Maharaja threatened him with dire consequences, he
understood that the only way to save himself was to ‘plant’ a tiger for the kill. So, he
and his aged wife dragged the tiger to the forest where the king was hunting. The king
took aim and the beast soon collapsed.

Question.11. Why was the Maharaja sunk in gloom even after having killed seventy
tigers?
Answer. During ten years, the Maharaja had managed to kill seventy tigers. As a result,
the tiger population became extinct in his kingdom. This made the Maharaja anxious
because he thought he would not be able to achieve his target of killing a hundred
tigers and so his life would be in danger.

Question.12. What led the Maharaja to start out on a tiger hunt?

Answer. The Maharaja knew the old saying that killing even a cow in self-defense was
no sin. So, in order to save his own life and prove the astrological prediction wrong, he
started shooting all his enemies, i.e., the tigers he found in the forests of his state and
nearby regions.

Question.13. When did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom?

Answer. Once, a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He was very fond
of hunting tigers and being photographed with them. However, the Maharaja refused
to give him permission to hunt tigers because he feared that other British officers too
would turn up with the same request. It was because of his refusal that the Maharaja
stood in danger of losing his kingdom.

Question.14. What happened to the tiger provided by the Dewan Saheb?

Answer. The tiger provided by the Dewan Saheb was very old and stood in complete
submission. The Maharaja look aim and fired, but-actually the bullet missed the tiger
and the tiger only fainted from the sharp sound of the bullet. As nobody wanted the
Maharaja to know about it, one of the hunters himself shot the tiger later on.

Question.15. Describe the efforts made by the Tiger King to achieve his target of killing
a hundred tigers.

Answer. The Tiger King made numerous efforts to fulfil his target of killing a hundred
tigers. He stayed in the forest for many days. He fired many of his officers for not
getting him tigers. He had to spend a ransom of three lakh rupees to impress the British
official and discourage him from killing the tigers. He even went to the extent of
marrying to kill the population of tigers in the neighbouring state to meet his target. In
a way, he did all he could to achieve his goal, of killing a hundred tigers.

Question.16. Did the Tiger King shoot the hundredth tiger? Give reasons for your
answer.

Answer. The Tiger King actually did not shoot the hundredth tiger. The tiger being a
weak one, fainted from the shock of a bullet whizzing past him and the ignorant king
celebrated his achievement. Later, when the hunters took a closer look at the tiger, it
woke up as if from a deep slumber.

Question.17. How did the Tiger King celebrate his victory over the killing of the
hundredth tiger?
Answer. When the Maharaja thought that he had killed the hundredth tiger, his joy
knew no bounds. The elated king returned to his capital and ordered his staff to bring
the dead tiger in a grand
procession. The tiger was buried and a tomb was erected over it.

Question.18. What was the Dewan’s tiger like? How did he take it into the forest?

Answer. The Dewan’s tiger was old and had been brought from the People’s Park in
Madras. It was kept hidden in the Dewan’s house. At midnight, the Dewan with his wife
dragged the tiger to his car and thrust it onto the seat. With great difficulty, the tiger
was pushed out of the car and planted in the forest to be shot by the Maharaja.

Question.19. Why did the Dewan decide to give up his own tiger to be killed by the
Maharaja?

Answer. The Maharaja refused to leave the forest unless he killed the hundredth tiger
that had been sighted by the villagers. The Maharaja was furious and sacked many
officers. He ordered the Dewan to double the land tax of the village and when the
Dewan tried to stop him, the Maharaja asked him to resign. So, to save his job, the
Dewan decided to arrange for a tiger to be killed by the Maharaja.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question.1. How did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom? How was he
able to avoid the danger?

Answer. Once a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. As he was fond of

hunting tigers, he expressed his wish of tiger hunting to the king but the king refused
permission. Then the British officer (requested that he only wanted to be photographed
holding gun and standing over the dead body of the tiger; the Maharaja could kill the
tiger. However, the Maharaja denied him this permission also, fearing that it would
lead to further similar requests from other officers.
As the Maharaja did not want to upset the British officer and risk losing his kingdom, he
sent a fifty diamond rings to the wife of the officer. The lady kept all the rings and sent
him a note of thanks. In this way, the king managed to save his kingdom.
Question.2. The astrologer’s prediction about the death of the Tiger King came to be
true. Do you agree with this statement?

Answer. I agree with the statement that the astrologer’s prediction about the death of
the Tiger King came to be true.
The astrologer had predicted that Tiger King would be killed by a tiger and he should be
wary of the hundredth tiger.
This statement of the astrologer forced the king to go on a killing spree. The hundredth
tiger was not killed by the king himself but by the hunters, who found out that the old
tiger had not died by the bullet of the king but only fainted by the bullet whizzing past
him. .
The hundredth tiger was a wooden toy tiger which the king had presented to his three-
year old son. It killed the king merely by a sliver of wood protruding form it that pierced
his right hand. The wound developed pus and it soon spread all over the arm. The best
surgeons failed to save the king and thus, the astrologer’s prediction about the death of
the Tiger King proved to be correct.