“The Tiger King” by Kalki is a satirical story that exposes the foolishness of blind belief in prophecies and the misuse of power. This story refers to the Maharaja Sir Jilani Hung Bahadur of Pratibandapuram. Astrologers predict his future when he was just 10 days old. Astrologers say that a tiger will kill him. On this, surprisingly, the 10-day old prince said: “Let tigers beware!” The boy grows up just like any other royal child. Such as by drinking the milk of a white cow and being looked after by an English nanny and watching English movies.
When he was 20, he was crowned king and came to know the prediction about his death. So, from then onwards, he started killing tiger and put a ban on the tiger hunt in his state. According to the astrologers, he needs to be careful with the 100th tiger even if he successfully kills 99 tigers.
One time a high-ranking British officer visits his state and wants to go for a tiger hunt. However, the Maharaja declined his wish. And in order to secure the state from the wrath of the British officer, the Maharaja sent 50 diamond rings to the officer‘s wife whose worth was Rs 3 lakh.
Within ten years the Maharaja successful killed 70 tigers. But after that, there were no tigers left in Pratibandapuram. Hence, to complete his target of killing a hundred tigers, he marries a girl from the royal state that has more tigers. Whenever he visits his in-laws, he makes sure that he kills 5-6 tiger each time. In this way, he was able to kill 99 tigers but he was unable to find the 100th tiger. On not finding the 100th tiger, the Maharaja became violent and threatened the Dewan. In order to save himself from the fury of the king, the Dewan got an old tiger from the circus and with great difficulty put him in the forest.
He told Maharaja about the tiger. So, Maharaja went on a hunt and shot the tiger and felt victorious and happy. But then again, he didn‘t know that his bullet missed and the tiger was alive and had only collapsed out of fear. No one has the guts to tell the truth to the king, so they killed the tiger and brought it in a grand procession.
At last, the maharaja was joyful and happy. So, on his son‘s birthday, he buys a wooden tiger as a gift for him. The tiger had rough edges and while playing with it he gets a woodcut in his hand which later on advances into an infection. And because of it, he dies. Therefore, fatefully, the 100th tiger although made of wood, took its revenge and killed the king.
Intro of “The Tiger King”
Character Sketch of The Tiger King
The Tiger King is the central character of the story “The Tiger King” by Kalki. He is a proud, arrogant, and authoritarian ruler who is obsessed with proving an astrologer’s prediction wrong. According to the prediction, his death would be caused by a tiger. To defeat fate, he started killing tigers and put a ban on the tiger hunt in his state. He removes officers who question his orders and bends laws for his personal desire to kill tigers. He is ultimately killed by a tiny wooden splinter from a toy tiger, proving that fate cannot be avoided. Through the Tiger King, the author highlights the foolishness of blind faith, the dangers of absolute power, and the irony of human arrogance.
Important Points to Remember
“The Tiger King “by Kalki is a satirical story that exposes the foolishness of blind belief in prophecies and the misuse of power.
Astrologers predict his future when he was just 10 days old.
Astrologers say that a tiger will kill him.
When he was 20, he was crowned king and came to know about the prediction about his death.
So, then onwards he started killing a tiger and put a ban on the tiger hunt in his state.
According to the astrologers he needs to be careful with the 100th tiger even if he successfully kills 99 tigers.
Within ten years the maharaja successful killed 70 tigers.
Hence, to complete his target of killing a hundred tigers, he marries a girl from the royal state that has more tigers so that he can complete his target.
In addition, in this way, he was able to kill 99 tigers but he was unable to find the 100th tiger.
Therefore, fatefully the 100th tiger although made of wood take its revenge and killed the king.
