The tiger in class 12th

1. Std. XII English
“THE TIGER KING”
BY KALKI

2. An Introduction
The Tiger King is a satire on those in power. The story is
a mixture of the supernatural, humour and irony. The
Tiger King has been magical from his birth. His
arrogance takes him on a path of destruction of the tiger
population. He is so much engrossed in exercising his
power as the king that he fails to notice the havoc he
has created . Even he forgets his duty towards his
subjects and their well being. His minions are scared of
him and fail to guide him. Ultimately, he meets the tragic
death by the piercing of the sliver from a roughly crafted
wooden toy tiger.

3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Tamil writer, journalist, poet, short story writer, critic and Indian
Independence Activist
• He was named after “Kalki avatar”, the tenth and last avatar of lord
Vishnu
• His writings include 120 short stories, 5 novels, 3 historical
romances, editorial and political writings and hundreds of film and
music reviews
KALKI R. KRISHNAMURTHY

4. THEME OF THE STORY
• The story deals with the theme of crime and
punishment/retribution which leads to the doom
of the Tiger King, ironically, by a wooden toy
tiger.
• The other important theme of the story is a
scathing criticism on the wanton killing of the
innocent beasts by the Tiger King causing great
havoc to nature. Hence, nature has to be
preserved and not decimated.

5. CORE IDEAS OF THE STORY
• The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram: The Tiger King
The maharaja Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur is popularly known as
the Tiger King as Tiger ruled his life and career.
• The prediction about the death of the Tiger King by the chief
astrologer:
The chief astrologer told the ten days old prince that he was born in
the hour of the Bull as the Bull and the Tiger were enemies, hence,
his death would come from the tiger.
• The Maharaja took up a massive tiger hunt mission:
At the age of twenty, the state came into the hands of the young
prince. He started out on a tiger hunt. The Maharaja was overjoyed
when he killed his first tiger. He sent for the state astrologer and
showed him the dead beast. The astrologer warned him to be ware
of the hundredth tiger. The king asked what would happen if the
hundredth tiger was also killed. The astrologer declared that he
would tear up all his books on astrology and set fire to them.

6. CORE IDEAS OF THE STORY
• The Tiger King banned tiger hunting by anyone except him:
The King banned tiger hunting in his kingdom by anyone except
him. If anyone dared to disobey, all his wealth and property would
be confiscated. But a high ranking British officer wished to hunt
tigers in Pratibandapuram. He was refused permission by the King.
• The Maharaja stood in danger of losing his kingdom:
As the Maharaja displeased a British official, he was in danger of
losing his kingdom. The Maharaja and the Dewan held deliberations
over this issue. The Maharaja sent fifty expensive diamond rings to
the British officer’s good lady expecting she would choose one or
two of them. But the greedy lady kept all the rings and sent a letter
of thanks to the Maharaja. The Maharaja was happy that though he
had lost three lakhs of rupees, he had managed to retain his
kingdom.
• The King’s mission of killing tigers came to a halt:
After killing seventy tigers within ten years, the tiger population
became extinct in the forests of Pratibandapuram.

7. CORE IDEAS OF THE STORY
• The King decided to marry:
The King decided to marry a princess of the neighbouring kingdom
in which there would be large tiger population. Each time he visited
his father-in-law’s house, he killed five or six tigers. In this way, he
killed ninety nine tigers.
• The hundredth tiger evaded the King:
The Maharaja could not find the hundredth tiger to kill and complete
his mission. The Maharaja was worried and sad. The Dewan
arranged a tiger from the People’s Park in Chennai. It was released
into the forest, where the Maharaja was hunting, in the dark hours of
the night. The next morning the Maharaja went for hunting the tiger.
The Maharaja took a careful aim and the tiger fell in a crumpled
heap. The Maharaja was elated that he had killed the hundredth
tiger and completed his mission. But after he had left, the tiger was
found to be alive and was killed by one of his hunters. The dead
tiger was taken in a procession through the town and burried.

8. CORE IDEAS OF THE STORY
• The Maharaja’s son’s third birthday was celebrated:
The Maharaja bought a wooden tiger that was roughly crafted from
a shop as a special birthday gift for his son. While the maharaja and
his son were playing with the toy-tiger, one of its slivers pierced the
Maharaja’s right hand.
• The hundredth tiger took its final revenge:
The next day, infection flared in the Maharaja’s right hand. In four
days, it developed into a sore and spread all over his arm. Three
surgeons were sent for from Madras. They decided to operate. The
operation was successful but the Maharaja died. In this manner the
hundredth tiger took its final revenge upon the Tiger King.

9. WORD MEANINGS
• Imperative: of vital importance; crucial
• Indomitable: impossible to subdue or defeat
• Vital; absolutely necessary; essential
• Abode: a place of residence; a house or home
• Demise: a person’s death
• Compelled: force or oblige ( someone) to do something
• Emerge: move out of or away from something and become visible
• Hindsight: understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened
• Drawled: speak in a slow, lazy way with prolonged vowel sounds
• Fling: throw or hurl forcefully
• Confiscated: take or seize(someone’s property) with authority
• Quake: shake or tremble

10. TEXTUAL OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
1)Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name?
Ans: i)The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, Sir jilani Jung Jung Bahadur
ii)He gets that name as Tiger ruled his life and he took up a
massive hunting mission of killing hundred tigers
2)What did the royal infant grow up to be?
Ans: i)Grew taller and stronger, drank the milk of an English cow,
brought up by an English nanny and tutored in English by an
Englishman and saw only English films
ii)At the age of twenty the kingdom came into his hands
3)What will the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill?
Ans: i)After killing seventy tigers, tiger population in Pratibandapuram
came to the verge of extinction
ii)Maharaja decided to marry a princess of the neighbouring
kingdom with large tiger population

11. TEXTUAL OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
4)How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which
was supposed to decide his fate?
Ans: i)Maharaja was worried and angry
ii)Report of a tiger from a hillside village- happy and exempted
task for three years for the villagers-the tiger not found, hence in
fury, the Maharaja doubled the task of the villagers
iii)The Dewan arranged the hundredth tiger from the People’s Park
in Madras to be killed by the Maharaja
5)What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy
was indisputably disproved?
Ans: i)Nothing will happen to the astrologer
ii)The Maharaja did not kill the hundredth tiger which was killed by
one of the hunters
iii)As the toy tiger which was the hundredth tiger was the cause of
his death, hence, the prophecy was proved

12. EXTRA 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

13. EXTRA 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 in reality the tiger
fainted to a swoon and was killed by one of his hunters later

14. EXTRA QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
1)What did the Maharaja do to complete his mission of killing a hundred
tigers?
2)How did the Maharaja save his kingdom?
3)What was special about the gift the Maharaja had given to the crown
prince on his third birthday?
4)How was the Maharaja hurt and what was the result of the wound?
5)How does the author satirize the upbringing and education of crown
princes of Indian states?
6)Do you agree the Maharaja’s statement, ‘You may kill even a cow in
self-defence’?
7)How did the hundredth tiger take revenge upon the king?
8)When did the Maharaja decide to double the land tax for a village?

15. TEXTUAL LONG QUESTIONS
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?
Ans: i)The Tiger King is a satire on the pride and stubbornness of those
in power
ii)The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram tried to disprove the prediction
of the chief astrologer and win over death
iii)Went on wanton killing of tigers to kill the hundredth tiger
iv)Irony of fate brings an unexpected end for him
v)Elated at killing of the hundredth tiger which fainted to swoon
later to be killed by one of his hunters
vi)The wooden toy tiger took revenge upon him ultimately

16. TEXTUAL LONG QUESTIONS
2)What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting
innocent animals to the wilfulness of human beings?
Ans: i)The author has rightly portrayed how human beings
have subjected innocent animals to untold suffering and
death
ii)Mostly done for satisfying their own whims and
fancies
iii)The Maharaja’s indiscriminate killing of tigers led to
their extinction
iv)The Maharaja was oblivious to the consequences of
his action and went on a killing spree proving his chief
astrologer wrong

17. TEXTUAL LONG QUESTIONS
3)How would you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions
towards him? Do you find them truly sincere towards you or are they
driven by fear when they obey him? Dow we find a similararity in
today’s political order?
Ans: i)The King’s minions feared him and tried to please him
ii)The astrologer: initially reluctant to predict the king’s future but
spoke when the king assured him to speak without any fear
iii)The Dewan: did not advise him to stop killing innocent animals;
rather he searched for a kingdom with a high population of tigers for
the King to kill and arranged the hundredth tiger for the King
iv)The royal hunters: did not inform the King about the hundredth
tiger being alive in fear of losing their jobs
v)The shopkeeper: sold the wooden toy tiger to the king at a high
price because he feared punishment
vi)In today’s political order this is also observed that the sub
ordinates try to please their seniors in order to retain their position

18. LONG QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
1)Sketch the character of The Tiger King.
2)The astrologer’s prediction about the death of the Tiger King came to
be true. Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons in support
of your answer.
3)How did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom? How
was he able to avoid the danger?
4)Discuss the theme of the story in The Tiger King.
5)Give an account of the Maharaja’s encounter with the hundredth tiger
and his subsequent death.
6)How did The Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his
death?
7)Justify the title of the story, ‘The Tiger King’.
8)Do you think the Tiger King’s life would have taken a different course
if he had not heard the prophecy about his future? What kind of a
king would he have proved to be?

19. VSATQ FOR PRACTICE
1. The Maharaja was thrilled beyond measures when he killed his first tiger.
He sent for the State astrologer and showed him the dead beast.
a) Why did the Maharaja send for the State astrologer?
b) What did the astrologer reply?
c) When did the astrologer warn the Maharaja about the hundredth tiger?
d) How did the astrologer try to confirm his prediction about the hundredth
tiger?
2. The tiger was not easily found. It seemed as if it had wantonly hid itself in
order to flout the Maharaja’s will.
a) Which tiger is referred to in the extract?
b) Why was the Maharaja worried about this tiger?
c) Why did the Dewan think of arranging the tiger?
d) Where from did the Dewan arrange the tiger to be killed by the Maharaja?