BY KALKI (R.

KRISHNAMURTHY)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy 
(9 September 1899 – 5 December 1954),
better known by his pen name Kalki, was
a Tamil writer, journalist, poet, critic and
Indian independence activist. He was
named after " Kalki ", the tenth and last
avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu.
 WHAT IS A SATIRE?
The use of humour, irony,
exaggeration, or ridicule to
expose and criticize people’s
foolishness or vices,
particularly in the context of
contemporary politics and
other topical issues.
 THE TIGER KING – A SATIRE
The Tiger King is a satire
criticizing the stubborn nature
of autocratic rulers of India
and the corrupting influence
of power. They exploit nature
and their subjects for their
own selfish needs.
THE SYNOPSIS OF THE
STORY
• This is the story of the Maharaja of
Prathibandapuram,who became known
as the Tiger King.
• According to the legend, when he was
born, the astrologers proclaimed that
having been born under a particular star
meant that he would have to die.
• Hearing this the Royal Prince who was
then only ten days old suddenly spoke,
much to the astonishment of all those
assembled there.
• The prince wanted to know the manner
of his death.
• The Astrologer said that he was born in the
hour of the bull.
• The bull and the tiger are enemies; therefore,
his death would be caused by the Tiger.
• Listening to this the Prince who was an infant
growled and said, “Let tigers beware’.
• The prince was brought up like other crown
princes with good English education. At age
20, he was crowned as the Maharaja.
• The Maharaja started out on a tiger hunt, killed a
tiger and sent word for the astrologer.
• The astrologer proclaimed that he may kill Ninety-
Nine Tigers, but must be careful with the
hundredth tiger.
• The Tiger King challenged him. The astrologer
agreed to set fire to his Astrology books, cut his
tuft of hair and become an insurance agent if his
prediction did not come true..
• The King banned tiger hunting by anyone other than him.
• If anyone dared to hunt a tiger, then all their wealth and property would be
confiscated.
• The Maharaja vowed that he would look into the state affairs only after killing a
hundred tigers.
• In full swing he started hunting tigers, many a times he missed the target and fought
the beast with his bare hands.
• One day a high ranking British official
who was fond of hunting tigers, visited
Prathibandapuram. He requested
permission to hunt but the Maharaja
refused.
• The British official even sent a message
that he only wanted to take a
photograph holding a gun with the
carcass of a dead tiger.
• The Maharaja still refused. Now he was
in danger of losing his throne, as he had
prevented a British official from fulfilling
his desire.
•To resolve the situation, The Maharaja and the
Dewan held discussions and finally decided to
geta gift for the British officer’s wife.
•They ordered some samples of diamond rings
from Calcutta and fifty rings arrived.
•The whole lot was sent to her, but instead of
choosing one, she retained all and thanked the
Maharaja for his gifts.
•The bill amounted to three lakh rupees.
•The king was happy though he had lost a heavy
amount; he managed to retain his Kingdom.
•The King continued to kill and was in short of only thirty tigers.
•That is when he realized that there were no more tigers left in
his kingdom.
•In order to complete the quota, he married a princess from a
state with a large tiger population.
•Every time he visited his father-in-law, he would kill five to six
tigers.
•He completed hunting ninety-nine tigers, The Maharaja’s
anxiety grew. By now, it was difficult to locate tigers any where.
•The Maharaja wanted to kill the hundredth tiger and give up
Tiger hunting.
•The Maharaja was worried about killing the hundredth tiger.
•One day he came to know that sheep were disappearing from a
hillside village.
•He announced a three year tax exemption for the village and set
out for the tiger hunt.
•But he couldn’t locate the tiger.
•Many officers lost their jobs.
•One day he called the Dewan and ordered him to double the Land
Tax.
• The Dewan found a way out. He brought a
tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and
kept it hidden in his house.
• At midnight he and his aged wife dragged the
tiger to the car and shoved it into the seat.
• The dewan himself drove the car to the forest
and struggled to pull the tiger out of the car.
• The next day the tiger wandered in the forest
in the sight of the Maharaja and he took
careful aim at it.
• The tiger crumpled in a heap and the Maharaja
was overjoyed proclaiming that he had killed
the hundredth king and hastened away in his
car.
• The hunters come close and saw
that the tiger rolled its eyes .
• They understood that the bullet
had missed its mark and the tiger
had only fainted out of shock.
• Fearing that they would lose their
jobs one of the hunters took aim
and shot it.
• The dead Tiger was taken in a
procession through the town and
buried.
• A tomb was erected over it.
•A few days later the maharaja celebrated his son’s third Birthday.

•He wanted to present him a gift.

•He went round for shopping but couldn’t find anything suitable. He finally
spotted a wooden tiger in a toyshop and decided it was the perfect gift.
•The shopkeeper cleverly quoted the two annas worth wooden tiger for
rupees three hundred.
• One day the Maharaja and his son were playing with the wooden
tiger.
• It had tiny slivers of woods standing like quills all over as it was
carved by an unskilled carpenter.
• One of the slivers pierced the Maharaja’s right hand and he pulled
it out with his left hand and continued to play.
• The next day infection flared in
the Maharaja’s right hand and in
four days it developed into a
suppurating sore which spread
all over the arm.
• Three surgeons from Madras
performed the operation and
declared, “The operation was
successful. The Maharaja is
dead.”
• As the Astrologer had predicted,
the hundredth tiger killed him or
took revenge on the Tiger King.
LITERARY DEVICES IN THE LESSON
WHAT IS
IRONY?
IRONY IN THE TIGER
KING
• Irony that reveals the follies of autocratic and wilful rulers who flout all laws
and bend them to suit their selfish interests.
• Dramatic irony --Tiger King alone is unaware that his bullet had not killed
the hundredth tiger. The other characters and the readers anticipate his
doom as he celebrates his triumph over his destiny.
• The King wanted to prove the astrologer wrong and to save his life.
Ironically, to avert death he actually invites it.
• The lofty titles used to introduce the Tiger King, suggesting an invincible
ferocity are indeed ironic for he is finally killed by a cheap, crudely made
wooden toy tiger which became the tool of Nature’s revenge.
• Verbal irony - when the surgeons announce the operation successful and
declare the king dead.
SATIRE IN THE TIGER KING
• The grandeur associated with a king’s life proves a mockery.
• The story also satirizes the corrupting influence of power. Just because
the Tiger King had power, he felt he could browbeat his subjects and even
defeat fate.
• He neglected his responsibility as a ruler. He neglected the welfare of his
subjects, his family, increased and reduced taxes at will and sacked his
officers.
• When we see the king gloating over his bravery after killing the
hundredth old, weak tiger, Kalki is satirizing the notions of cowardice and
bravery.
• Kalki is also criticizing the King’s men and subjects who pander to his
whims out of fear or like the shopkeeper manipulate and fool him.
 HUMOUR IN THE TIGER KING
 The ten day old baby speaking to the chief astrologer.
 The king’s offer of mouse hunt, mosquito hunt etc
 The incoherent blabbering by the Dewan when the King told him
that he wished to get married.
 The Dewan procuring an old tiger from people’s park and its
stubborn refusal to get off the car and the description of its
waiting in humble supplication to be shot.
 The shopkeeper quoting three hundred rupees for a cheap two
annas and a quarter toy tiger