tiger king

The Tiger King

-Kalki

Ø The tiger is our national animal. à But very few tigers are surviving today.

§ Once upon a time there were thousands of tigers in our forest.

Ø Tiger hunting was considered a royal sportà y the Maharajas.

§ Sometimes they were do ne to please British officersà who liked to be photographedà carrying guns over dead animals.[Brag bout bravery]

Ø It only disturbed the ecological balance in our forest.

Ø The story is a satire.

§ It is a story about a king who kills one hundred innocent tigers. But he cannot keep death away.

Ø The Maharaja of Pratibandapuramà was known as Tiger King.

Ø He had taken a vow to kill one hundred tigers.

Ø There is a story about why he took the vow and how he fulfilled it.

Astrologer’s Prediction:-

Ø When the king was born, the royal astrologer predicted that one day he must die.

Ø The 10 day old baby amazed everybody: “O wise astrologer, we know that all must die.”

§ Tell me how I will die.

Ø Astrologers said: “The holy prince was born in the hour of the Bull. The Bull and the tiger are enemies. So the tiger will kill the bull.

Ø Boyàprediction did not frightenà “Let the tigers beware”

The Prince Comes of Age:-

Ø He drank the milk of an English cow. àBrought up by an English nanny, he was tutored by an English teacher, he watched only English films.

Ø Prince came of age at 20.

Ø He became the king of Pratibandapuram State.

Killing Tigers in self-defense:-

Ø He thought of the astrologer’s prediction.

Ø He believed that the tiger was his enemy and he must kill him in self-defense.

Ø He went into the forest and killed his first tiger.

Ø He was happy. He proved the prediction wrong.

§ So he sent for the royal astrologer.

The Danger is not Over

Ø Astrologer stuck to his prediction. à He said that the danger was not over.

Ø He said that the king might kill 99^th tiger but the hundredth tiger could prove dangerous.

Ø He must be more cautious in his dealing with the hundredth tiger.

The King’s Resolve:-

Ø The king decided then and there to kill one hundred tigers before paying attention to the affairs of the state.

Ø He proclaimed that no one would kill a tiger in his kingdom àonly he.

Ø He then killed quite a number of tigers à in a few months.

Risk Of Losing the Throne:-

Ø High- ranking British Officer visited Pratibandapuram.

Ø Wanted to go on a hunting expedition, kill a tiger and get him photographed with the dead tiger.

Ø King refused permission. àNot keen on killing only wanted to be photographed with a dead tiger.

§ Maharaja did not agree even this.

§ This refusal could have cost the king his throne.

Throne Saved:-

Ø The dewan and the king discussed how they could save the throne.

Ø They asked a famous British company of Jewelers in Calcutta to send fifty chosen samples of diamond rings.

Ø The rings were sent to the wife of the British officer.

§ It was hoped that she would choose one or two.

§ But she accepted them all as the king’s gift.

§ This cost the king 3 lakh rupees.

§ But the throne was safe.

The King decides to Marry:-

Ø The king killed 70 tigers in the forestà Now no tigers were left.

Ø So he decided to marry the daughter of a king whose forest had a large number of tigers.

Ø The dewan found a stateà had a large number of tigers and a marriageable daughter.

Ø Every time he visited his father-in lawà he would kill a few tigers.

Ø At last he had killed 99 tigers in all.

Search for the hundredth tiger

Ø Now the king could not find an alive tiger neither in his own forest nor his father-in-law’s.

Ø But he had to kill the hundredth tiger to be safe.

Ø He learnt that sheep were disappearing fast in a hillside village.

§ It was presumed that there was a tiger there.

§ The king set up a camp there and decided not to leave until the mission was accomplished.

Ø But no tigers appeared. The king grew impatient.

Dewan provides the hundredth tiger:-

Ø The king expressed his displeasure to the dewan.

§ The dewan felt that he might lose his job à if the king did not get the hundredth tiger.

Ø He had an old tiger hidden in his house.

§ At night the dewan and his old wife managed to get the tiger into their car.

§ With great difficulty they were able to push him out and leave him there.

The Hundredth tiger is killed :-

Ø Next morning the tiger was sighted. à The king shot it.

Ø The king was happyàbecause he had accomplished his mission.

Ø He ordered that the tiger should be carried to the town in a grand procession.

Ø But the hunters found that the tiger was alive.

Ø The king had missed his mark.

§ The bullet had gone whizzing past the tiger’s ear.

§ Had fainted with the shock.

§ But the hunters wanted to keep it a secret from the Maharaja.

§ So they shot the tiger dead.

The Tiger was buried with honour:-

Ø It was a day of celebration.

Ø The tiger was buried in honour.

Ø And a tomb was raised over it.

The Wooden Tiger:-

Ø The king felt he was safe.

Ø After a few days it was his son’s birthday.

Ø King wished to give him a suitable presentà He chose to give a wooden tiger toy.

Ø It was an ordinary toy carved by unskilled hands.

Ø It had slivers all over.

Ø The shopkeeper said that it was worth three hundred rupeesà But the king took it away as a gift.

The Hundredth Tiger had it’s revenge:-

Ø The king and his son were playing with the wooden tiger.

Ø A sliver pierced the king’s hand.

Ø He removed it àbut the infection developed into a terrible sore.

Ø Three famous surgeons from Madras operated upon the king.

Ø At the end à The surgeons announced, “ The operation was successful. The king is dead.”

§ Ironically the mighty king who had killed ninety-nine tigers was killed by a wooden tiger.

§ Thus the king was killed the way it was predicted.