VISTAS 2.

THE TIGER KING

- Kalki
Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur was born
ASTROLOGER’S PREDICTION
 Jung Bahadur would become a warrior, hero , champion
 But he would die one day
 Death would come from the tiger as he was born in the hour of the bull ( enemy of tiger)
THE MIRACLE
 10 days’ old infant spoke-asked intelligent question
 Asked the source and manner of death
 Astrologer says: born in the hour of bull, bull and tiger enemies, will be killed by a tiger
 Cautioned all tigers
LIFE OF JUNG BAHADUR
 Grew taller, stronger and grew in English environment
 Drinks milk of English cow
 Brought up by English nanny
 Tutored by English teacher
 Watches only English movies
 Became maharaja of Pratibhandapuram at the age of 20.
 Goes into forest , kills first tiger, happy , proves the prediction wrong
 Calls the astrologer
 Sticks to his prediction-says danger not over
 The king may kill 99 tigers but 100 th will prove dangerous
 Advises to be more cautious with the 100th tiger
 Also added that he would tear the books and cit his tuft and become an insurance
agent if proved wrong.
 continued hunting tigers in Pratibandapuram
 order- no one else would hunt tigers
 no one could even throw a stone at the tigers
 celebration time for tigers of the kingdom
 Was the sole hunter
 Once high ranking British officer visits Pratibhandapuram

 Wants to kill a tiger and get photographed with the dead tiger
 refused permission to durai to hunt
 It became a threat to his throne-so had to appease (please) durai
 Ask famous jewelers in Calcutta to send fifty chosen samples of diamond rings
 Send diamond rings to durai’s wife to choose from
 Hoped her to choose one or two
 But She kept all 50 rings – durai happy
 King retained kingdom at the cost of rupees 3 lakhs
 In 10 years hunted 70 tigers
DECIDES TO MARRY
 Married from a kingdom where there was enough tigers
 Hunted whenever he visited his father-in- law’s kingdom
 Killed 99 tigers in all
SEARCH FOR 100TH TIGER
 To find the 100th tiger was difficult
 Learns that sheep disappearing fast in a hillside village
 Presumes a tiger to be there
King sets up a camp, decided not to leave until the mission accomplished
No tiger found, king grows impatient
Irrational behavior of king towards villagers.
 Gave 3- year tax exemption when hoped to find a tiger
 In anger doubled land tax as no tiger was found.
THE HUNDRETH TIGER
 A tiger was brought from People’s park in Madras
 Put in the forest by the dewan
 Next morning, tiger sighted by king
 Shot by the king ,happy to have accomplished his mission
 King thought it was dead--- went home happy and victorious
 But had missed the shot- tiger collapsed
 Shot again by hunters, killed but not by the king
 Carried in procession and buried, tomb erected
THE WOODEN TIGER
 king feels he was safe
 On son’s birthday gifted him a wooden tiger which had raw/ rough surface- made by an
unskilled worker
 Shopkeeper quotes three hundred rupees; the king purchases it
REVENGE OF 100TH TIGER
 King and son playing,
 tiny silvers of wood pierced king’s left hand
 Removes it but infection develops into a terrible sore
 Three famous surgeons from Madras operated.
 Operation successful but king died
 Final revenge by hundredth tiger- thus the king was killed by hundredth tiger
 Ironically the mighty king could kill only 99 tigers- killed by 100th tiger ,an wooden one.
 The astrologer’s prediction came true.
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1.Who is the tiger king? Why does he get that name?
The tiger king is the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. When he was an infant, an astrologer
made a prophecy that when he grows up he would be killed by a tiger. On hearing this, the
infant let out a horrible growl .When he grew up, he started killing tigers. That is why he
was nicknamed as the tiger king .

2. What did the royal infant grow up to be?

The royal infant grew up to be a tall and strong man .When he came to the age of 20 he
was made the king of his state.

3. What miracle took place when the king was only 10 days old?
When the tiger king was born, his father called the famous astrologers of the kingdom in
order to know the child's future. The astrologer predicted that he must die one day.At that
moment, a great miracle took place, the child, who was only 10 days old, began to speak .
He also asked intelligent questions. He asked the astrologers to predict the manner of his
death.
4. Describe the upbringing of the royal infant. When did he take the reins of the state
in his hand?
Crown Prince Jung Jung Bahadur grew taller and stronger day by day.The boy drink the
milk of an English, he was brought up by an English governess, he was taught English by
an Englishman, he watched nothing but English movies. When he became 20 years old,
the command of the state came into his hands.

5. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting? Why was it celebration time for tigers in
Pratibandapuram?
The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. If anyone even dare to
throw a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated . The Maharaja
did not want any other person to reduce the limited population of tigers. It was celebration
time for tigers in the state as tiger hunting was banned for all except the Maharaja.

6. How was the Maharaja once in danger of losing his throne?

Once, the Maharaja was in the danger of losing his throne . A high-ranking British officer
had visited Pratibandapuram. He was very fond of tiger hunting and being photographed
with them . But the king refused him permission to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. When
the British officer said that he only wanted to be photographed with the dead tiger, the king
did not agree even to that proposal.
He had prevented a British officer from fulfilling his desire; the Maharaja was in the danger
of losing his throne.

7. How did the Maharaja manage to retain his Kingdom?

British officer samples of expensive diamond rings of different designs were brought from a
famous jeweler in Calcutta . The Maharaja sent all the 50 rings to the British officer's good
lady. He had expected that she would select one or two rings and return the remaining
ones . But surprisingly, she kept all of them. This cost the Maharaja 3 lakh but he managed
to retain his kingdom.

8. How did the Maharaja solve the problem of killing the remaining 30 tigers ?
The Maharaja asked his Dewan to draw figures of tiger population in the different native
states. He could marry in a royal family with a large tiger population. The Dewan found out
the right princess and the king married her. Each time he visited his father in law the
Maharaja would kill five to six tigers. Ultimately, he was able to kill 99 tigers in all.

9. Why did the Dewan warn the Maharaja not to double the land tax forth with what
was the reaction of the Maharaja?
The hundredth tiger was not located. The maharaja's anger was at its height . He called the
Dewan and ordered him to double the land tax forth with. The Dewan warned that the
people would rise in revolt, then their state would fall a prey to the Indian National
Congress . The king became furious and told the dewan to resign from his post if he did
not obey the orders.

10. How did the Dewan arrange the hundred Tiger for the king to shoot down?
 The Dewan knew that if the king did not find the tiger he would lose his job. He felt life
returning to him only when he saw the tiger which had been brought from the People's Park
in Madras and kept hidden in his house. The Dewan knew that if the king did not find the
tiger. At midnight, he and his wife put the tiger in a car and took him into the Jungle where
the king was camping . There they put him out of the car and came back.
11. Who actually killed the hundredth tiger ?
After the Maharaja had gone, the hunters went near the tiger. They found that the tiger was
not dead. The bullet had missed him. The tiger had fainted from the shock. But they did not
tell the secret to the king. One of the hunters shot at the tiger and killed him.
12. How did the hundredth tiger take its revenge upon the tiger king?
The king decided that a wooden toy tiger was a perfect gift for his son's third birthday. One
day he was playing with that wooden tiger. One of the slivers pierced the maharaja's right
hand .Infection spread all over the arm. Three surgeons performed an operation but
couldn't save the king. Thus, the hundredth tiger took its revenge upon the king.
13. What is the irony in the king's death?
Three famous doctors were brought from Madras to operate on the king's hand. After they
had performed the operation, they came out and announced that the operation was
successful but the Maharaja was dead . It is ironical that the king dies in a successful
operation by three famous surgeons. Also ironical is the situation that a brave king who
killed hundred tigers to save himself, dies of a wooden sliver.
14. Justify the title ‘The Tiger King’.
The Tiger King is an apt title as the whole story revolves around the whimsical pursuits of
one man popularly known as the tiger king simply due to his vow of killing hundred tigers.
The title also has a reference to the irony that a king who, though had killed 99 tigers
bravely, was killed just by a toy tiger . Hence the title is appropriate.
15. What is the author's indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the will
fullness of human beings?
Through this satirical story the author has rightly portrayed how human beings have
subjected innocent animals to untold torture and death, merely to fulfill their own whims and
fancies. The Maharaja's indiscriminate killing of tigers lead to their extinction in some
states, but the Maharaja was oblivious to the grave consequences his action was leading
to. In order to prove an astrologer wrong, the Maharaja went on a killing spree proving his
dominance over the hapless animals.

Long Answers( 120-150 words)

1. Kalki’s ‘The Tiger King’ is a satire on the pride and unbridled power and rule of
the stubborn Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. Describe the use of dramatic irony
leading to the death of the tiger king.
Kalki’s ‘The Tiger King’ is a satire on the pride and stubbornness of those in power. The
Maharaja of Pratibandapuram try to refute what was written in his fate. The chief astrologer
predicted that the cause of his death would be a tiger. It was then the king to come out to
kill hundred tigers. His campaign of tiger hunting was very successful. He was single
minded and determined .But the satirical aspect of the whole story is the king's inability to
kill the hundredth Tiger. All his strategies and wise plans worked till he killed 99 tigers. But
the hundred tiger alluded him till his death.
The irony of fate brings quite an unexpected end of the Maharaja. After killing 99 tigers, he
was on the lookout for the hundredth tiger. His dewan brought an old tiger in the forest. The
king did not know this fact. He shot that tiger, thinking that he had killed it. In fact it had
been killed by his hunters. It is dramatic irony that the king thought himself to be safe but in
fact, he had not killed the hundredth tiger. The king was conceited and thought that he
could escape his destiny. Ironically, the hundred tiger which cost his death was not a
ferocious beast of blood and flesh. It was a wooden tiger . One of the wooden slivers
pierced his right hand and caused infection and a suppurating sore ultimately leading to his
death.

2. 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?
Maharaja's minions were subservient and sycophantic. Most of them were scared of
Maharaja and tried to keep him in good humour by obeying his orders. They did not
dare to disobey him as his displeasure could mean loss of their job or even loss of their
lives.

The astrologer was afraid of predicting his death, till Maharaja told him to speak without
fear. The dewan, who should have advised the king not to kill the tigers, did not dare to go
against his wishes and aided his marriage to a princess whose father's kingdom
possessed a large number of tigers. Being afraid of losing his job, he presented an old
tiger to satisfy the whims of the Maharaja. Likewise , the hunters chose not to inform him of
the survival of the hundredth tiger and instead killed it themselves fearing that they might
lose their jobs. Even the shopkeeper, who sold the king cheap wooden toy tiger ,quoted
higher price lest he should be punished under the rules of emergency. So, it is evident that
the king's minions were driven by fear rather than any feelings of sincerity towards their
ruler.

Today's political order is no different‐ we know too well that many of the people in power
are not there because of their ability but because of their influence and power. Moreover,
others pander to them for their own vested interests rather than for the good of the country.

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