(Chapter-2)

THE TIGER KING

By –Kalki

The story ‘The Tiger King’ is a satire on those in power. Most of the time the rulers are not
interested in serving the people or work for the welfare of the public; instead, they spend their
time in foolish pursuits. This is a story about the transience of life. The story is about crime and
punishment. Kalki has used humour, irony and conversational narrative style to bring out the
theme.

Character sketch of the tiger king:

1. Self-centred (decides to deal with matters of the state only when the threat to his life is
removed and the 100 tigers are killed).

2.Egoistic (he thinks he can challenge fate, the astrologers and hunt down all the tigers, gloats
when he feels he’s succeeded by buying the wooden tiger as a present for his son; likes
flatterers, fires anyone who disobeys his orders.

3.Whimsical and irrational (three-year exemption from all taxes, doubles the land tax according
to his changing moods).

A: Answer the following questions in three to four sentences:

Q1. What was the reply of the astrologer, when the Tiger King asked the astrologer what he
would do if the hundredth tiger were killed?

Ans. The astrologer replied that he would tear all his books on astrology, set fire to them and cut
off his tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance agent.

Q2. What did the Maharaja do to realize his ambition of killing a hundred tigers?

Ans. The State banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. Anyone defying this order
would lose all his wealth and property. The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters
only after killing a hundred tigers. He fired many of his officers for not getting him tigers. He
even stayed in the forest for many days. He had married a princess whose father’s kingdom had
a large tiger population. The Tiger King had to spend three lakh rupees to impress the British
official and discourage him from killing the tigers.
Q3. What did the dewan do on hearing the Maharaja’s threat?

Ans. The dewan and his wife took the tiger which had been brought from the People’s Park in
Madras and dragged it to the car and shoved it into the seat. They left the tiger with great
difficulty and ensured that it should wander into the Raja’s presence. Everything happened
according to their plan. The Maharaja took careful aim at the beast and killed it.

Q4. What was special about the gift the Maharaja had given to the crown prince on his third
birthday?

Ans. The Maharaja had decided to give a special gift to the crown prince on his third birthday.
He searched for a suitable gift and finally spotted a wooden tiger in a toy shop and decided it
was a perfect gift. He paid three hundred rupees to the shopkeeper who convinced him that it
was an extremely rare example of craftsmanship. On the contrary, it was rough, carved by an
unskilled carpenter and had tiny slivers of wood all over it.

Q5. How was the Maharaja hurt and what was the result of the wound?

Ans. One of the sharp slivers of wood pierced the Maharaja’s hand. He pulled it out with his left
hand and continued to play with the prince. Infection flared in his hand the next day and in four
days, it developed into a big sore which spread all over the arm. Despite the operation
conducted on him by three famous surgeons, he died. The hundredth tiger had taken its final
revenge on him.

Q6. Do you agree with the Maharaja’s statement, ‘You may kill even a cow in self-defence’?

Ans. The Maharaja killed the Tigers, not in self-defence but to change his destiny as predicted
by the astrologers. He went in search of tigers with the intention of killing a hundred of them.
This statement of the Maharaja is not justified by his actions.

Q7. Why did the Maharaja have to pay a bill of three lakh rupees to the British jewellers?

Ans. At one time the Maharaja was in danger of losing his throne as he had refused a high
ranking British officer to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. He was very fond of hunting tigers and
being photographed with them. Now the Maharaja stood in danger of losing his kingdom itself.
To appease the British officer, the Maharaja sent 50 expensive rings to the British officer’s good
lady who kept the whole lot. Thus the Maharaja lost three lakh of rupees.

Q8. When did the Maharaja decide to double the land tax for a village?

Ans. The hundredth tiger, essential to disprove the prophecy, could not be located. The
Maharaja’s anger and desperation were at a height. He called the dewan and arbitrarily ordered
him to double the land-tax forthwith. The dewan warned him that the people would rise in revolt.
Then their state too would fall prey to the Indian National Congress but the king didn’t relent.

Q9. What was the Dewan’s tiger-like? How did he take it to the forest?

Ans. The Dewan had bought an old tiger from the People’s Park in Madras. It was a very old
tiger. At night the Dewan and his wife dragged the tiger to the car and shoved it into the seat.
He drove the car to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting and pulled the tiger out of the
car with great effort.

B: Answer the following questions in 120-150 words:

Q1. The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. Discuss.

Ans. The story satirizes the concept of people in power. They refuse to take no for an answer
and their whims become laws for their subjects. This is aptly illustrated by the eccentric
behaviour of the Tiger King who wished to disprove an astrologer’s prediction about his death.

The Tiger King banned tiger hunting in his state. Only the Maharaja could kill the tigers. He went
out on a hunting spree and made it his main occupation. After killing seventy tigers, its
population became extinct. He married a princess in a neighbouring kingdom with a large tiger
population. The author satirizes the rulers using humour as a tool. The British Officer wanted to
be photographed with a tiger as it was a status symbol. The story exposed the fondness of
officials in pre-partition days for portraying themselves as brave.
The Tiger King’s eccentricity made him whimsical and conceited. He felt happy when he was
informed about the presence of tiger that would have completed his mission of killing the
hundredth tiger. He immediately announced a three-year exemption from all taxes. When the
tiger was not traced for a few days, the king decided to double the taxes, many officers also lost
their jobs. Thus in pre-partition days, though Indian rulers were scared of the British officers, in
their own state, they behaved like autocrats.

2. Justify the title of the story ‘Tiger King’.

Ans. The story ‘The Tiger King’ revolves around the king of Pratibandapuram who is given this
title due to his obsession for the tiger hunt. From the beginning, it is evident when the royal
infant utters first few words, “Let tigers beware.” It was predicted by the astrologers that a tiger
would be the cause of his death. When the royal prince was made the king at the age of twenty,
he decided to kill a hundred tigers to prove this prediction wrong. All-State work was put away.
A marriage of the Tiger king was given priority so that more tigers could be found. The entire
story is a narrative of the stupid and inhumane mission of the Maharaja who in order to prevent
his death, killed a hundred innocent animals. But, ironically, he died thanks to a tiger only
though it was a wooden one.

3. Do you think tiger king’s life would have taken a different course if he had not heard the
prophecy about his future? What kind of a king would he have proved to be?

Ans. The Tiger King was brought up and provided with all the privileges of a royal family. He
was given the best education. He was well mannered, cultured and sophisticated. He was a
strong young man. Like any other crown prince of the Indian state, he was brought up by an
English nanny, tutored in English by an Englishman, saw nothing but English films. Had he not
heard the prophecy, he would have been a very great and just king. He would have done a lot
for the improvement and upliftment of his state. But due to this prediction, he lost all his interest
in the matters of the state and devoted himself to the fulfilment of his mission to kill a hundred
tigers. The king was a brave and intelligent one but due to this prophecy, all his might and wits
are used just to kill the tigers and not for the development of his state.