The Tiger King Extra Questions and Answers

The Tiger King Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
Who was the Tiger King? Why was he so named?
Answer:
When the king was bom, the astrologers had foretold that one day he
would be killed by a tiger. The king, they predicted, would grow up to
become the greatest of all warriors, heroes and champions, but since he
was bom in the hour of the bull, predicted that he would meet his end at
the hand of its nemesis—the tiger.

Question 2.
When did the king kill his first tiger? What was his reaction?
Answer:
When the Maharaja came of age at twenty, he became the ruler of the
State. It was then that he heard of the astrologer’s prediction. He
immediately launched on a spree to kill hundred tigers, and killed the first
of them around that time. He justified his hunt by calling it an act of “self-
defence”. He was thrilled with his first kill, but was soon unsettled when
the astrologer predicted that it would be the hundredth tiger that would
kill him.

Question 3.
“The king seemed well set to realise his ambition.” What was his
ambition? How did he set out realising it?
Answer:
The king’s ambition was to kill a hundred tigers. He went forth fearlessly,
there were times when the bullet missed its mark, the tiger leapt upon
him and he fought the beast with his bare hands. Each time it was the
Maharaja who won.

Question 4.
The tiger hunt almost cost the Maharaja his throne. How?
Answer:
A high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He was very fond
of hunting tigers. He was keener on being photographed with the tigers
he had shot. He wished to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. But the
Maharaja firmly refused permission. He even refused to let him be
photographed, standing over the tiger’s carcass. But the Maharaja
appeased the officer by sending his wife expensive diamond rings as
gifts.

Question 5.
What difficulty awaited the Maharaja’s tiger hunts after he killed seventy
of them? How did he solve the situation?
Answer:
Within ten years of his hunt for tigers, the Maharaja succeeded in killing
seventy tigers. With that, the tigers became extinct in the forests of
Pratibandapuram. To resolve the issue, the Maharaja decided to get
married to a girl of a royal family of the state with the highest tiger
population.

Question 6.
What incentive did the Maharaja give to the village with the hundredth
tiger? What was his reaction when the tiger was not found?
Answer:
The Maharaja announced a three-year exemption from all taxes for the
village where a tiger was spotted. When the tiger was not found, the
Maharaja refused to leave the forest until the tiger was found. As the
days passed, many officers lost their jobs, he doubled the land tax, and
threatened the.dewan, asking him to resign.

Question 7.
How was the hundredth tiger found?
Answer:
The dewan got a tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and kept it
hidden in his house. At midnight when the town slept in peace, the
dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger to the car and shoved it into
the seat. The dewan himself drove the car straight to the forest where
the Maharaja was hunting.

Question 8.
Bring out the irony in the end of the story.
Answer:
The Maharaja, the greatest of warriors and heroes, was killed by a
wooden tiger that cost only two annas and a quarter. After he spent
years hunting down tigers to avoid the death that was predicted, he met
his end at the hands of a toy tiger. The irony lay in the strange way his
fate unfolded.

The Tiger King Long Answer Question

Question 1.
Bring out the irony in the title “The Tiger King”.
Answer:
The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram took on the title of His Highness
Jamedar-General, Khiledar-Major, Sata Vyaghra Samhari,
Maharajadhiraja Visva Bhuvana Samrat, Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur;
but this name was often shortened to Tiger King. As his name
suggested, the astrologers predicted that he would grow up to become
the warrior of warriors, hero of heroes, and champion of champions.
They also foretold that he would be killed by a tiger.

However, his death was an anti-climax. He had killed ninety-nine tigers

to overwrite the prediction of the astrologer. However, he died — not a
valiant death on the battlefield or while hunting a tiger. Instead, his death
was caused by a wooden tiger that cost only two annas and a quarter.
The surface of the tiny little • wooden tiger, carved by an unskilled
carpenter, was rough and had tiny slivers of wood like quills all over it.
One of those quills pierced the Maharaja’s right hand. 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 operated but could not save him.

Question 2.
“The Tiger King” was punished for his crime of killing the tigers.
Comment.
Answer:
The day the Maharaja was bom, astrologers predicted that he would be
killed by a tiger as he was bom in the hour of the bull, which had a tiger
for its enemy. The hundredth tiger would be the cause of his death. As
the Maharaja grew up, he set out to hunt all the tigers, vowing he would
attend to all other matters only after killing a hundred tigers. He was well
set to realize his ambition. There was a time when the bullet missed its
mark, the tiger leapt upon him, and he fought the beast with his bare
hands.

Each time, it was the Maharaja who won. Within ten years, the tiger
population became extinct in the forests of Pratibandapuram. To kill
thirty more tigers, he married a girl from the royal family of a state with a
large tiger population. After his marriage, Maharaja Jung Jung Bahadur
killed five or six tigers each time he visited his father-in-law. In this
manner, the number rose to ninety-nine. But, as luck would have it, he
missed killing the hundredth tiger as it was still alive when the Maharaja
took him for dead.

The Maharaja, however, paid for his deeds. His death was caused by a
wooden tiger that cost only two annas and a quarter. The tiny little
wooden tiger that he got as a gift for his son had been carved by an
unskilled carpenter. Its surface was rough and tiny slivers of wood stood
up like quills all over it. One of those slivers pierced the Maharaja’s right
hand. 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.
Despite famous surgeons operating on it, he could not be saved.

Question 3.
Why does the writer say: “Even the threat of a Stuka bomber will not
throw me off track.”
Answer:
The Junkers Ju 87 ‘Stuka’ was a plane used by the Germans as a dive
bomber. It was instantly recognizable with its inverted gull-wings and
fixed undercarriage. The bomber’s accuracy was high when in a full dive
as it used an automatic pull-up system to ensure that the plane pulled
out of the dive once the bomb was released. The wheel covers were
fitted with sirens that were used once the planes went into a dive, to
shatter the morale of enemy troops and civilians. The fins of the bombs
were also fitted with whistles to ensure that those being bombed knew
just when the bombs were released and could track them on the way
down. This was supposed to generate fear in them. The writer refers to
the Stuka bombers to convey that nothing, not . even a horrific thing like
a Stuka Bomber, could deter him from telling the story.

Question 4.
What does the writer mean when he says: “As Bharata said to Rama
about Dasaratha, the Tiger King has reached that final abode of all living
creatures”?
Answer:
In the Ramayana, Kaikeyi, the last and youngest of Dasaratha’s three
wives, on Manthara’s advice, forced Dasaratha to banish Rama from the
kingdom for a period of no less than fourteen years and place her son,
Bharata, upon the throne of Ayodhya. Honouring his father’s vow, Rama
relinquished his claim to the throne and left. In time, Dasaratha lost the
will to live and died of grief.
Outraged at his mother’s act and grieved at the loss of his father,
Bharata went to get back his brother Rama to take over as the next king.
As Bharata conveyed to Rama the news about Dasaratha’s demise, the
writer conveyed the news of Tiger King’s death to the reader in a similar
fashion.

Question 5.
Explain the miracle that happened soon after the Maharaja was born.
Answer:
When the Maharaja was only a ten-day-old infant, a miracle occurred.
The astrologers predicted that one day the king would grow up to
become a valiant warrior. He would be one of the greatest heroes but
would one day have to meet his death. As the astrologers foretold his
future, a great miracle took place. The ten- day-old Maharaja spoke.

He said that all mortals would one day have to die. He wanted to know
the cause of his death. The chief astrologer was wonderstruck. The
infant Maharaja had not only spoken, but had also raised an intelligent
question. The chief astrologer predicted that the prince was bom in the
hour of the bull. The bull and the tiger being enemies; the Maharaja’s
death would come from the tiger. As soon as Jung Jung Bahadur heard
of the prophecy, he shouted a warning to all the tigers—“Let tigers
beware!”

Question 6.
How did the Maharaja come close to losing his throne? How did he save
it?
Answer:
Maharaja Jung Jung Bahadur had issued an order forbidding anyone but
himself from shooting tigers in his kingdom. This order put him in danger
of losing his throne. Once, a high-ranking British officer who was very
fond of hunting tigers visited Pratibandapuram. He wished to hunt tigers
in Pratibandapuram, but the Maharaja declined. The Maharaja not only
sent a message forbidding him to kill tigers but he also refused to let the
officer be photographed holding the gun and standing over the tiger’s
carcass.

Since he prevented a British officer from fulfilling his desire, he stood in

danger of losing his kingdom. Hence, the Maharaja sent a telegram to a
famous company of jewellers in Calcutta to send samples of expensive
diamond rings of different designs. About fifty rings were sent. The
Maharaja sent the whole lot to the British officer’s wife expecting her to
choose one or two rings and send the rest back. But she kept all of them
for herself. The Maharaja had to foot a bill for three lakh rupees but was
happy that he had managed to retain his kingdom.

Question 7.
In Pratibandapuram it was “easier to find tiger’s milk than a live tiger”.
Why was this so?
Answer:
After the Maharaja had heard of the astrologer’s prediction, he set out to
hunt a hundred tigers. He vowed he would attend to all other matters
only after killing a hundred tigers. Within ten years, he was able to kill
seventy tigers, but with this the tiger population became extinct in the
forests of Pratibandapuram. To kill thirty more tigers, he asked his
minister to find a girl from a royal family in a state with a large tiger
population.

After the right girl was found, the Maharaja Jung Jung Bahadur killed five
or six tigers each time he visited his father- in-law. In this manner, the
number rose to ninety-nine. But, when just one tiger was left to achieve
his count of a hundred, and he could not find another tiger, he sank into
gloom. Finding a tiger was next to impossible. Here the author has used
a hyperbole to stress the scarcity of tigers for a comical effect. Tiger’s
milk, which is impossible to find, is used to convey that it became next to
impossible to find a live tiger in Pratibandapuram.

Question 8.
Did the Maharaja ‘kill’ the hundredth tiger? Why/why not?
Answer:
After the Tiger King had killed ninety-nine tigers, the Maharaja sank into
gloom as he could not find the hundredth tiger. Then, one day, when he
heard that in his own state the sheep had begun to disappear from a
hillside village, his hopes began to rise. Delighted, he even announced a
three-year exemption from all taxes for the village and set out to find the
tiger. But it was in vain. Furious, the Maharaja threw out many officers
and doubled the land tax there.

The worried dewan was relieved when a tiger was brought from the
People’s Park in Madras and he kept . it hidden in his house. At
midnight, the dewan and his wife dragged the tiger to the car and drove
it till the forest where the Maharaja was hunting. With a great difficulty,
the dewan pushed it out. The next day, the old tiger wandered into the
Maharaja’s presence. The Maharaja shot the beast and the tiger fell to
the ground. The overjoyed Maharaja left after ordering that the tiger be
brought to the capital in a grand procession, After
the Maharaja left, the hunters realized that the tiger was not dead; it had
merely fainted from the shock of the bullet that went past it. For the fear
of losing their jobs, the hunters decided to keep away the truth from the
Maharaja and shot the tiger dead.

Question 9.
Why did the hunters not tell the Maharaja that he had failed in his
mission of killing the hundredth tiger?
Answer:
After a great deal of effort, the Maharaja found the hundredth tiger.
Ironically, for the Maharaja, who had earlier fought and killed a tiger
bare-handed, killing the old tiger would have been a cake-walk; and yet
destiny did not allow this. The Maharaja shot the tiger and thinking it
dead, left the forest, feeling elated. But when the hunters took a closer
look at the tiger, it rolled its eyes in bewilderment. The men realized that
the tiger was not dead. The Maharaja’s bullet had missed it.

Nevertheless, it had fainted from the shock of the bullet speeding past.
The hunters decided that the Maharaja must not come to know that he
had missed his target. He was quick to anger and would punish them.
They would lose their jobs or worse. Hence, one of the hunters took aim
from a distance of one foot and shot the tiger. This time, the tiger was
killed. But the Maharaja was blissful in his ignorance.

Question 10.
The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. Comment.
Answer:
The story, “The Tiger King”, is a poignant satire on the self-importance
that the people in power assume. Because of a prophecy made at the
time of his birth, the Maharaja shouted a warning to all the tigers—’’Let
tigers beware!” After he grew older, he started his tiger hunt in the
innumerable forests in Pratibandapuram State and justified the act as he
was doing so in “self-defence”. He banned tiger hunting in the State by
anyone other than him and declared that the property of the person who
would hurt a tiger would be confiscated. He vowed to attend to all other
matters only after killing hundred tigers. After killing all the seventy tigers
in his own kingdom, the Maharaja married a girl of a state with a large
tiger population.
Soon, tigers became extinct even in his father-in-law’s kingdom. Hearing
the news of a tiger in a village announced a three-year exemption from
all taxes for that village and set out on the hunt at once. After shooting
the tiger the Maharaja was relieved. However, the warrior of warriors,
hero of heroes, and champion of champions did not die a valiant death
on the battlefield or while hunting a tiger. Instead, his death was caused
by infection resulting from a wound caused by a wooden tiger that cost
only two annas and a quarter.

Question 11.
Human beings view nature merely as a resource to be exploited or even
an enemy that needs to be vanquished. Comment with reference to The
Tiger King.
Answer:
The author in the story “The Tiger King” expresses the view that there is
no excuse or justification for stalking and killing an animal. Because of
his blind faith in prophecy, the Maharaja kills tigers aimlessly. Ironically,
he who had confessed as a child that “all those who are bom will one
day have to die”, later sets out to become immortal by killing tigers,
indiscriminately. Hunting animals by humans operates perversely. The
Maharaja’s only need was to prove his masculinity, his dominance by
killing hapless animals.

The writer reaffirms a very valid reason against hunting—the extinction

of species due to human activities. We realize that asserting the right to
kill animals is like asserting the right to steal from future generations.
The Maharaja steals tigers from the future. The tiger population became
extinct in the territories where he had an access to kill. Thus, the next
generation would not have the right to see and learn from the bountiful
earth that they inherited because the present generation would have left
it barren.