Summary of The Tiger King (from class 12th)
Answers
The story ‘The Tiger King’ is a satire on the pride and stubbornness of those in power. The writer takes us to the days of autocratic and eccentric kings. These kings lived under the thumb rule of British, hence they fear them. Most of the time the rulers were not interested in serving the people and working for the welfare of the public; instead they spent their time in foolish pursuits. They flouted all laws and bent them to suit their selfish interests. The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram tried to belie what was written in his fate. The chief astrologer had predicted that the cause of his death would be a tiger. The King tried his best to belie the prediction. His campaign of tiger-hunting was very successful. All his strategies and wise plans worked till he killed 99 tigers. But the hundredth tiger eluded him till his death. The irony of fate brings quite an unexpected end of the Maharaja. The hero who killed ninety nine tigers couldn’t kill the only one that was left. The last tiger he thought to be dead survived. The King’s bullet had missed its mark. Ironically, the hundredth tiger which caused his death was not a ferocious beast of blood and flesh. It was a wooden tiger. One of the slivers of wood pierced his right hand and caused infection and a suppurating sore. It ultimately led to his death.
Answer:
When Maharaja Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur was born, the astrologers had foretold that One day the king would die. The ten-day-old Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur started speaking; he told them that all those born would have to die one day. He asked the astrologers to tell the manner of his death. Everyone was stunned. An infant born just ten days ago was talking in such a manner. The chief astrologer told the Prince that he was born in the hour of the bull. As bull and tiger were enemies so his death would come from the tiger. The royal arrogance surfaces when the infant pronounces “Let tigers beware!”
The Maharaja grew stronger and took to tiger hunting. He was overjoyed when he killed the first tiger. When he told the chief astrologer about it, the chief astrologer told him that he may kill 99 tigers but he must be careful with the hundredth one. In ten years he killed 70 tigers. He banned the killing of tigers in Pratibandhpuram. The tiger population became extinct at Pratibandhpuram. So the Maharaja, on the advice of the dewan married a princess of a state where the tiger population was large. He would hunt tigers during his visits to his father-in-law. He managed to kill 99 tigers but one was still left. There was no sign of tigers anywhere. The Maharaja could not bear it any more. He raised the land tax and also dismissed some of his men.