THE TIGER KING

Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy
 About the Author
(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.

Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy
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
get a 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.
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 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.
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 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 M
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.
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 M
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.
 Questions
1)What was the miracle that happened when the astrologer predicted about the death of newborn
child?
Ans: i) The ten-day old baby spoke clearly after hearing the prediction about his death.
ii) Everybody was stunned into silence.

2)Why did the chief astrologer predict that the death of the king would come from a tiger?
Ans: i) The king was born on the hour of Bull and Bull and Tiger are enemy.
ii) Hence, the death from a tiger.

3)What was the reply of the astrologer, when the Tiger King asked him what he would do if the
hundredth tiger was killed?
Ans: i) That he would tear all his books on astrology and set fire to them.
ii) Cut off tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance agent.
 Questions
4)Why did the Maharaja not agree to the proposal of the British officer's secretary?
Ans: i) The Maharaja had banned tiger hunting by others in his kingdom.
ii) If the British officer was allowed other British officers would also turn up for tiger hunts.

5)Why did the Maharaja decide to get married?

Ans: i) Tiger population almost extinct in his kingdom.
ii) Wanted to marry a girl from a state with large tiger population to continue his tiger hunting
mission.

6)How did the Tiger King kill the hundredth tiger?

Ans: i)The hundredth tiger evaded the King.
ii) The Dewan found the risk of losing his job and arranged the tiger from The People's Park in
Madras.
iii) The King took aim and killed the tiger, but the tiger fainted to a swoon and was killed by one of
his hunters later.
THANK
Veeshal D. Bodosa
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