The Tiger King

Summary

The Tiger King is the story of Maharaja Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur of Pratibandapuram, a brave warrior whose manner of death had been predicted when he was born. The chief astrologer had predicted that as the royal child was born in the hour of the bull, the tiger being its enemy, he would die at the hands of a tiger. The brave prince asked all tigers to beware of him. Therefore, he came to be known as the ‘tiger king’.

When the prince became the king of his kingdom at the age of 20, he came to know about the prophecy and went on a tiger killing spree. After killing the first tiger he was told by the astrologer that he could go on killing the first 99 tigers successfully but he had to be careful of the hundredth tiger which could take his life. After killing 70 tigers, there were no more tigers left in his kingdom so he married a girl from a kingdom with a high tiger population to continue his mission.

When his killings reached ninety nine, he desperately sought the next hunt. Fearing the king’s harshness, the dewan planted an old tiger in the forest for him to kill. The king fired at it but the tiger escaped the bullet and only fainted. The royal hunters feared the king and so did not inform him; rather they killed the beast themselves.

The king was satisfied that he had evaded death and now celebrated his son’s third birthday. He got a wooden toy tiger as a gift for the prince. Although it was poorly done, the shopkeeper, fearing punishment under the rules of emergency charged a high price. As both the king and his son were playing with the tiger, one of the slivers of wood that were erupting out of the wooden tiger pierced the king’s right hand.

The wound became infectious, spread through his arm and as he was being operated upon, he died.

So, ironically, the hundredth tiger killed the king and eventually took its revenge. 

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 satire on the self-admiration of those in power. It is also the best instance of dramatic irony in a situation where the entire significance of a character’s talk is obvious to the readers but is not known to the characters present in it. The Maharaja, because of the prediction that he would meet his death from the hundredth tiger that he killed, screamed a warning to all the tigers. He explained the act of killing tigers as ‘self-defence’. The state banned the hunting of tigers by anyone in the state except the Maharaja. The Maharaja tried his utmost best to distort the prediction of the astrologers since his kingdom astrologer had foretold the Maharaja’s death by a tiger. He was to be more careful of the hundredth tiger. Instead, the courtiers spent their time living luxuriously and comfortably off the taxes of the people and in foolish pursuits. Even the courtiers took extreme advantage of their power. The story is full of situations of irony that expose the foolishness of dictatorial rulers who neglected nature and bent laws to suit their selfish wishes. The author manipulates dramatic irony in the story with a twist of fortune when the bullet of the Maharaja failed to kill the hundredth tiger and he remains unaware of it. The irony lies in the point that the tiger which caused the death of the Tiger King was a wooden tiger. One of its tiny slivers pierced into the right hand of the king. An infection flared and a suppurating sore spread all over the arm. In vain struggles to prove the astrologer wrong, the Maharaja had killed 99 tigers, but by failing to kill the last tiger and celebrating his ‘triumph’ over his fate, Maharaja had invited death as he was ironically killed by a little wooden toy tiger. While everyone thought it was just an accident, we the readers know that it was the hundredth tiger avenging the death of his ninety-nine comrades. Hence the dramatic irony.

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 incorporates some humour and also explains how humans kill innocent creatures or animals just to show their supremacy and desires to fulfil their whims and fancies. The Maharaja’s wild killing of 99 tigers had led to their destruction in many forests, but he was unaware of the severe results his foolish actions would lead to. To save his life and lead a satisfactory one, the Maharaja mercilessly drove the helpless animals to extinction just to show his power and legacy and to prove the astrologer wrong. He wished to show his superiority as a human being, strength over nature and his destiny and exercised his power to kill hundred luckless tigers.

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.

The Maharaja’s servants were remarkably subservient and loyal to his every command. Most of them were terrified of the Maharaja and decided to keep him in good humour by following his orders. They did not dare resist him as his anger could mean the loss of their jobs or even the loss of their lives. The astrologer was afraid of predicting his death, but the Maharaja had asked him to talk without any fear. The Dewan, who was his close advisor, could not stop him from killing tigers, fearing his anger, and he arranged the Maharaja’s marriage to a princess as per his wishes. Since he was scared of losing his post, he even planted an old tiger to pacify the King’s anger and please him. Likewise, the hunters chose not to notify him of the survival of the hundredth tiger and instead killed it themselves, fearing that they might lose their jobs. Finally, the shopkeeper, who sold the wooden tiger to the King, quoted a higher price to avoid a penalty. So it is obvious that the king’s servants were driven by fear rather than by any feelings of justice towards their king.

Yes, today’s political order is very similar to that of the Maharaja’s story. It means there’s no difference. Most people these days occupy various positions of political power based individually on their influence and power.

My Mother at Sixty-Six

My Mother at Sixty-six is a poem written by Indian writer Kamala Das. Her poems are mostly about the less noticed aspects of human relationships in the tapestry of life. She magnifies the simplest events through beautiful imagery and strong descriptions.

Ageing is a natural process, and no one has control over it. As much as we love our parents and wish for them to live forever with us, nature does not seem to heed our wishes. Our parents do grow old and need help and care. It might be painful to see them lose their youth with time. It is unfortunate, but it is just like sand slipping away from between our fingers. We cannot hold on to it forever.

The poet explores the loving relationship between a mother and a daughter. Her mother is old, and she cannot bear the thought of losing her. The poem describes feelings and emotions that surface within her as she rides to the airport with her mother before departing to another place.

The poet describes her ride to Cochin from her parent’s house in the poem. Her mother, who was sitting beside her, dozed in the car. The poet observed her closely and realised that her mother had grown old. She did not exhibit any youthful nature – her mouth was open as she was sleeping, and her face did not have the lively glow found in young people. The poet described her face as ‘ashen’. It is indicative of a state after death – the end of life.

She found this thought troubling and looked out the window to distract herself. The world outside presented a contrast to her recent thoughts and observations. She could see things that represented the very vibrant spirit of life. There were several young trees outside the window on the roadside. They seemed to sprint as the car drove on. The poet could see children run out of their houses to play. Their happiness was an embodiment of energy and optimism, opposite to what she felt when she looked at her mother.

At the airport, after the security check, the poet looked at her mother again. Her face looked colourless and pale. She compared it to a late winter’s moon – hazy and dim. The poet could relate this to a childhood fear she used to have – the fear of losing her mother. The situation described here is a moment of parting, and leaving her mother alone at this age makes her sad and helpless. She felt a pang of pain and fear here. She knew that her mother was approaching her end. There was nothing she could do about it. She controlled her feelings and waved her mother goodbye with a smile. The poet uses the repetition of the word ‘smile’ here to show how hard she tried to contain her pain in front of her mother to give out a rather pleasant demeanour.

The poem ends on a note of sad acceptance of reality. The poet understands that no matter how much she worries about her mother’s growing age and eventual demise, life goes on. It is the way nature intends things to be in life.

The poem teaches us the concept of acceptance in life – the need to understand nature and how it affects our roles in life. We might feel strongly about certain things and people in life. We might form deep attachments to certain people in life, but even those relationships are bound to end at some point of time in life – no matter how much we try to fight the idea of it. Kamala Das has beautifully illustrated this idea in her poem.

The Last Lesson - Extra Questions

1. Do you think the story touches upon the brutalities of war? Comment.

Ans. Yes, the story The Last Lesson says so much about the brutality of war. Though it doesn't have any physical effect on the residents but it has affected them mentally. Not only have they lost a precious piece of land to their enemies but also have lost the right to use their own mother tongue. They are now deprived of the freedom of expression of emotions and communication in their own tongue. A country remains powerful and invincible 

(unconquerable) as long as it retains with pride its culture and language. With it, no one can defeat them.

The story also brings home the bare fact that war mercilessly snatches away everything from people – work, home and their near and dear ones. Under such circumstances people feel utterly devastated and deserted with hardly any hope or desire to sustain life. In this case M. Hamel loses his job, the milieu (social environment where one works or lives) where he is wonted to work as well as his favourite school and students. 

Thus it can be said that the author has very well tried to sensitize his readers about the aftermath and brutalities of war.

2. What happened when the church clock struck 12?

Ans. The church clock struck twelve to announce the time of midday prayer Angelus. At the very same moment, the sound of the trumpets by Prussian soldiers was heard. They were returning from their regular drill – a cruel reminder of the bitter truth that Alsace belonged no more to the residents. It also meant that it was time for the school to get over. M. Hamel stood up to say something but something choked him and he could say nothing. He was overwhelmed with emotion as the moment of parting forever had arrived, parting from his pupils, the villager, the villagers, the long-tended garden and above all his classes and his dear subject as a teacher. It was the moment, the beginning of a new phase of life, without his ruler, without his books and without his children. He would thenceforth carry the sweet memories of every nook of the school. He took a big piece of chalk and in big letters wrote ''Vive La France!'' and made a gesture to the students to leave. A helpless teacher and a helpless patriot could do nothing but accept the harsh reality and depart with a heavy heart full of bitter sweet memories.

3. What was the trouble with the people of Alsace according to M. Hamel? What did he think would give the Germans a chance to mock at them?

Ans. According to M. Hamel the trouble with the people of Alsace is that they put off learning till tomorrow. They are in a habit of procrastinating and shirking their duties. This would give the Germans a chance to mock at them saying that they pretended to be French but couldn’t even speak or write their language.