THE TIGER KING

THE TIGER KING

Comprehension Check:

1. Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name?

 Answer Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur, the king of Pratibandapuram, is known as the Tiger King. At the time of his birth the astrologers declared that the prince would have to die one day. The chief astrologer said that his death would come from the tiger. The young prince growled and uttered terrifying words: 'Let tigers beware!' He decided to kill one hundred tigers. He thus got the name 'Tiger King'.

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

 Answer The royal infant grew up to be the king of Pratibandapuram who was obsessed with the idea of killing one hundred tigers. He wanted to do so to disprove the prophecy which said that his death would come from the hundredth tiger. This made him kill all tigers of Pratibandapuram. He even married for the sake of this ambition. He came to be known as the Tiger King.

3. What did  the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill?

Answer To get the required number of tigers to kill, the Maharaja asked his dewan to find a suitable girl for him to marry. A suitable girl for matrimonial alliance would be one who would not only come from a royal family but also belong to a state with a large tiger population. As Pratibandapuram had no more tigers left, a province that belonged to his father-in-law would certainly provide him with an opportunity to kill more tigers and reach his aim of killing one hundred tigers.

4. How did the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which was supposed to decide his fate?

Answer The Maharaja wanted to be extremely careful while dealing with the hundredth tiger which was supposed to be the reason for his death. On encountering the hundredth one, he took a careful aim at the tiger and shot it. When it fell in a crumpled heap, he was overcome with joy and left the place hastily.

5. What happened to the astrologer? Did the prophecy prove true?

Answer The astrologer died before the king of Pratibandapuram gets an opportunity to kill one hundred tigers. Disproving his prophecy seems to be the sole reason for the king's existence. Except for killing hundred tigers, everything else takes a back-seat for the king. The prophecy came true as the king was ultimately killed by a tiger, though not by a real one.. It was the “tiny little wooden tiger” from the toy shop that caused the death of Tiger King.

Reading with Insight

1.      The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. How does the author employ the literary device of dramatic irony in the story?

 Answer The story "The Tiger King" is a supreme example of dramatic irony. The character acts in a way grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances or expects the opposite of what fate holds in store for him'. Kalki has used a very dexterous use of dramatic irony in the story. After killing the first tiger the King flaunts its dead body before astrologer to show that he is more powerful than the tiger. However, the astrologer warns the king that he should be "careful with the hundredth tiger". The king chooses to prove the astrologer wrong once again and makes frantic efforts to kill hundred tigers. Thus, having shot at the old tiger, the Tiger king believes he has killed the hundredth tiger. But the reader as well as the king's officers and minions soon come to know that the emaciated tiger does not get killed but only faints. The king gets happy of killing the tiger but in actual ignorant of this ironical fate the prediction proves to be right and mere sliver on wooden tiger's body causes his dramatic death. Quite ironically the hundredth tiger kills the king instead and astrologer's predictions stands vindicated.

2.      What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?

Answer 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 led 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.

3.      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?

Answer 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”. 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 his Maharaja. Likewise , the hunters chose not to inform him of the survival of the 100th tiger and instead killed it themselves fearing that they might lose their jobs. Even the shopkeeper, who sold the king a cheap wooden toy tiger, quoted a 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.

4.      Can you relate instances of game-hunting among the rich and the powerful in the present times that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife?

Answer There have been some instances of game hunting in the present times. Even the affluent have been involved in instances that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife. Salman Khan – Black Buck poaching case. Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi - Antelope case.

EXTRA QUESTIONS

Question.1.What gave the astrologers the greatest surprise of their life while they were studying
the horoscope of the ten-day old prince? (Foreign 2014)
Answer. When the astrologers were reading the horoscope of the little prince, they were taken by surprise when the ten-day old infant asked about the manner of his death. When the chief astrologer told him that a tiger would be the cause of his death, the baby retorted with arrogance, “Let the tigers beware!”

Question.2.How did the Maharaja please a high ranking officer? (Compartment 2014)
Answer. A high ranking British officer visited the state of Pratibandapuram and sought permission for tiger hunting from the Maharaja. The Maharaja declined his request, but as he did not want to upset the officer, he sent fifty diamond rings to the officer’s wife which cost the king three , lakh rupees.

Question.3.Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state? (Delhi 2014)
Answer. As the prince was crowned the king, the astrologer’s prediction regarding his (the king’s) death by a tiger reached his ears. This prompted the Maharaja to kill a tiger but the astrologer informed him that he had to successfully kill hundred tigers to escape the prophecy. Thus, in order to reach that mark, the Maharaja banned tiger hunting in the state except for himself

Question.4. Why did the Maharaja decide to get married? (Compartment 2014)
or
What is the reason lor the Tiger King’s sudden decision to marry? (Compartment 2014)
Answer. In order to defeat the astrologer’s prophecy, the Maharaja had to kill a hundred tigers. He had already killed seventy tigers and the tiger population in his state neared extinction. For this reason, he wished to marry a girl in the royal family of a state with a rich tiger population, where he would kill the rest of the tigers.

Question.5. Why did the Maharaja double the land tax? (All India 2014)
Answer. The Maharaja had successfully killed ninety-nine tigers but struggled hard to find the hundredth tiger. Once, there came a news of a tiger being spotted at a hillside village but it turned out to be untrue. This infuriated the Maharaja, who ordered the dewan to double the land tax in order to punish the villagers for the false news.

Question.6. How did the Tiger King become the victim of the hundredth tiger? (Foreign 2014)
or
How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his fate? (All India 2009)
Answer. The Tiger King met his end through the wooden tiger, which he had bought as a gift for his son on his third birthday. While he was playing with his son, a splinter of the poorly made toy tiger pricked the king’s hand. The infection turned into a sore, which spread all over his arm. In spite of the best surgeons, the king’s life could not be saved.
The irony is in the fact that in spite of killing nearly all the tigers in the area, he had to face his death by a toy tiger.

Question.7. What, sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the high-ranking British
officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal? (All India 2013)
Answer. Tiger hunting was banned in Pratibandapuram. When the British official came with a tiger hunt request, the Maharaja told him that he may conduct a boar hunt, a mouse hunt, even a mosquito hunt, but not a tiger hunt. In reply to this, the British officer said that he only wanted to be photographed holding a gun and standing ewer the dead body; the tiger could be killed by the Maharaja. This shows the shallowness of character of the officer.

Question.8. Why was the Maharaja so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger? (AR India 2012)
Answer. When the Maharaja was barely ten days old, the chief astrologer had predicted that a tiger would be the cause of his death. When the Maharaja was twenty, he killed one tiger. When he asked his astrologer, the astrologer said that he would kill ninety-nine tigers, but he should be fearful of the hundredth tiger. That was the reason why the Maharaja was so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger.

Question.9. What warning did the astrologer give the Tiger King when he killed the first tiger?
Did the prediction of the astrologer come to be true? (Foreign 2011)
Answer. When the Maharaja boasted about killing the first tiger, the astrologer said that he may kill ’ ninety-nine tigers, but must be “very careful with the hundredth tiger.” Yes, the astrologer was absolutely true in this prediction, because finally the Maharaja was killed by the hundredth tiger.

Question.10.How did the Dewan manage to arrange the hundredth tiger for the Maharaja?
(Foreign 2011)
Answer. The Dewan had brought a tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and kept it hidden in his house. When the Maharaja threatened him with dire consequences, he understood that the only way to save himself was to ‘plant’ a tiger for the kill. So, he and his aged wife dragged the tiger to the forest where the king was hunting. The king took aim and the beast soon collapsed.

Question.11.Why was the Maharaja sunk in gloom even after having killed seventy tigers?
(Foreign 2011)
Answer. During ten years, the Maharaja had managed to kill seventy tigers. As a result, the tiger population became extinct in his kingdom. This made the Maharaja anxious because he thought he would not be able to achieve his target of killing a hundred tigers and so his life would be in danger.

Question.12.What led the Maharaja to start out on a tiger hunt? (All India 2010)
Answer. The Maharaja knew the old saying that killing even a cow in self-defence was no sin. So, in order to save his own life and prove the astrological prediction wrong, he started shooting all his enemies, i.e. the tigers he found in the forests of his state and nearby regions.

Question.13.When did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom? (Delhi 2010)
Answer. Once, a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He was very fond of hunting tigers and being photographed with them. However, the Maharaja refused to give him permission to hunt tigers because he feared that other British officers too would turn up with the same request. It was because of his refusal that the Maharaja stood in danger of losing his kingdom.

Question.14.What happened to the tiger provided by the Dewan Saheb? (Delhi 2009)
Answer. The tiger provided by the Dewan Saheb was very old and stood in complete submission. The Maharaja look aim and fired, but-actually the bullet missed the tiger and the tiger only fainted from the sharp sound of the bullet. As nobody wanted the Maharaja to know about it, one oflhe hunters himself shot the tiger later on.

Question.15.Describe the efforts made by the Tiger King to achieve his target of killing a hundred
tigers. (All India 2009)
Answer. The Tiger King made numerous efforts to fulfil his target of killing a hundred tigers. He stayed in the forest for many days. He fired many of his officers for not getting him tigers. He had to spend a ransom of three lakh rupees to impress the British official and discourage him from killing the tigers. He even went to the extent of marrying to kill the population of tigers in the neighbouring state to meet his target. In a way, he did all he could to achieve his goal , of killing a hundred tigers.

Question.16.Did the Tiger King shoot the hundredth tiger? Give reasons for your answer.
(Foreign 2009)
Answer. The Tiger King actually did not shoot the hundredth tiger. The tiger being a weak one, fainted from the shock of a bullet whizzing past him and the ignorant king celebrated his achievement. Later, when the hunters took a closer look at the tiger, it woke up as if from a deep slumber.

Question.17.How did the Tiger King celebrate his victory over the killing of the hundredth tiger?
(Delhi2008)
Answer. When the Maharaja thought that he had killed the hundredth tiger, his joy knew no bounds. The elated king returned to his capital and ordered his staff to bring the dead tiger in a grand
procession. The tiger was buried and a tomb was erected over it

Question.18.What was the Dewan’s tiger like? How did he take it into the forest? (Delhi 2008)
Answer. The Dewan’s tiger was old and had been brought from the People’s Park in Madras. It was kept hidden in the Dewan’s house. At midnight, the Dewan with his wife dragged the tiger to his car and thrust it onto the seat. With great difficulty, the tiger was pushed out of the car and planted in the forest to be shot by the Maharaja.

Question.19.Why did the Dewan decide to give up his own tiger to be killed by the Maharaja?
(Delhi 2008)
Answer. The Maharaja refused to leave the forest unless he killed the hundredth tiger that had been sighted by the villagers. The Maharaja was funous and sacked many officers. He ordered the Dewan to double the land tax of the village and when the Dewan tried to stop him, the Maharaja asked him to resign. So, to save his job, the Dewan decided to arrange for a tiger to be killed by the Maharaja.

Long Answer Type Questions (6 Marks, 120-150 words)

Question.20.How did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom? How was he able to
avoid the danger? (Delhi 2012)
Answer. Once a high ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. As he was fond of hunting tigers, he expressed his wish of tiger hunting to the king but the king refused permission. Then the British officer (^quested that he only wanted to be photographed holding gun and standing over the dead body of the tiger; the Maharaja could kill the tiger. However, the Maharaja denied him this permission also, fearing that it would lead to further similar requests from other officers.
As the Maharaja did not want to upset the British officer and risk losing his kingdom, he sent a fifty diamond rings to the wife of the officer. The lady kept all the rings and sent him a note of thanks. In this way, the king managed to save his kingdom.

Question.21.The astrologer’s prediction about the death of the Tiger King came to be true. Do you
agree with this statement? (All India 2008)
Answer. I agree with the statement that the astrologer’s prediction about the death of the Tiger King came to be true.
The astrologer had predicted that Tiger King would be killed by a tiger and he should be wary of the hundredth tiger.
This statement of the astrologer forced the king to go on a killing spree. The hundredth tiger was not killed by the king himself but by the hunters, who found out that the old tiger had not died by the bullet of the king but only fainted by the bullet whizzing past him. .
The hundredth tiger was a wooden toy tiger which the king had presented to his three-year old son. It killed the king merely by a sliver of wood protruding form it that pierced his right hand. The wound developed pus and it soon spread all over the arm. The best surgeons failed to save the king and thus, the astrologer’s prediction about the death of the Tiger King proved to be correct.