THE TIGER KING

YEH PADHO AUR PURA CHAPTER ON TIPS:

Important Notes
1. When the Prince at ‘Pratibandhpuram’ was born – Astrologers predicted that he would be
killed by 100th tiger, to prove the astrologer wrong he killed the first tiger and challenged
the prediction.
2. The astrologer said that the 100th tiger would kill him. The Maharaj put all his Estate
duties aside and set upon killing 100 Tigers.
3. When all the Tigers in his Estate were killed, he married a princess whose father had
many Tigers his forests.
4. He even spent Rs. 3 lakhs to please a British officer who wanted to hunt tigers in his
estate.
5. Finally, the hundredth tiger was killed, the Maharaja was very happy & then decided to
spend time with his son.
6. He bought a wooden toy tiger on his son’s third Birthday – toy was made up by an
unskilled carpenter. One of slivers pierced his right hand – developed an infection –
operated & died.
7. Irony – killed 99 tigers but wooden tiger took its revenge.

Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract.

A From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram.
The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. A proclamation was issued to
the effect that if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property
would be confiscated.
The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters only after killing the hundred tigers.
Initially the king seemed well set to realise his ambition.
Not that he faced no dangers. There were times when the bullet missed its mark, the tiger leapt
upon him and he fought the beast with his bare hands. Each time it was the Maharaja who won.
i ) The tone of the author when he says, ‘it was celebration time for all tigers’ is
a) solemn.
b) sarcastic.
c) sympathetic.

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d) mocking.
Ans (b)
ii ) Pick the pair of TRUE statements based on the extract.
1. Tiger hunting was absolutely banned in the kingdom.
2. The Maharaja was extremely courageous and fearless.
3. The Maharaja paid no heed to matters related to his
4. The Maharaja was able to fulfil his ambition, without any perils.
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 4
c) 2 and 3
d) 1 and 4
Ans (c)

iii. In which of the following options can the underlined words NOT be replaced with
‘proclamation’?
a) The politician shared his manifesto during the election meeting.
b) All the citizens of the kingdom had to abide by the emperor’s edict.
c) The communique made by the official had a disastrous effect.
d) The decree of the state forbade cruelty against animals.
Ans (c)

iv. On the basis of this passage, pick the option that enumerates the characteristics of
the king.
1. gullible
2. arrogant
3. wilful
4. aggressive
5. apathetic
6. scrupulous
a) 1, 2 and 6
b) 3, 4 and 6
c) 3, 5 and 6
d) 2, 3 and 5
Ans d

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B At midnight when the town slept in peace, the dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger into
the car and shoved it into the seat. The dewan himself drove the car straight to the forest
where the Maharaja was hunting. When they reached the forest, the tiger launched its
satyagraha and refused to get out of the car. The dewan was thoroughly exhausted in his
efforts to haul the beast out of the car and push it down to the ground. On the following day, the
same old tiger wandered into the Maharaja’s presence and stood as if in humble supplication,
“Master, what do you command of me?” It was with boundless joy that the Maharaja took
careful aim at the beast. The tiger fell in a crumpled heap.
i. Pick the option that uses the same figure of speech as ‘town slept in peace’.
a) His actions really flared up my temper, so I walked out.
b) She is going through a rollercoaster of emotions.
c) My alarm clock yells at me every morning until I get out of bed.
d) The children were screaming and shouting in the fields.
Ans (c)

ii. Pick the option that best describes the dewan’s attitude.
1. desperate
2. submissive
3. servile
4. dishonourable
5. detestable
6. flattering
a) 2, 3 and 6
b) 1, 4 and 5
c) 2, 4 and 6
d) 1, 3 and 5
Ans (a)

iii. Which of the following is NOT an example of ‘satyagraha’?

a) People on a hunger strike as a mark of protest against a law.
b) People resorting to violence to ensure their demands are accepted.
c) A few people blocking a roadway or passage peacefully.
d) People participating in a silent march to protest against injustice.
Ans (b)

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C The British officer’s secretary sent word to the Maharaja through the dewan that the Durai
himself did not have to kill the tiger. The Maharaja could do the actual killing. What was
important to the durai was a photograph of himself holding the gun and standing over the
tiger’s carcass. But the Maharaja would not agree even to this proposal. If he relented now,
what would he do if other British officers turned up for tiger hunts?
1. What does the British officer want to do?
A. He wanted to kill a tiger
B. He wanted to kill the tiger king
C. He wanted to click the tiger king’s picture with the dead tiger
D. None of these
Ans (A) He wanted to kill a tiger

2. What is a carcass?
A. Dead body of an animal
B. Dead body of a human
C. Dead body of a demon
D. None of these
Ans (A) Dead body of an animal

3. Why did the Maharaja not want to relent?

A. For other Britishers could turn up for hunting tigers
B. For other Britishers could turn up for hunting him
C. For other Britishers could turn up for clicking his picture
D. All of these
Ans (A) For other Britishers could turn up for hunting tigers

4. What was the final decision made by the tiger king?

A. He refused Durai
B. He accepted his proposal
C. He denied Durai being photographed with the tiger
D. Both A and C
Ans (D) Both A and C

D Crown prince Jung Jung Bahadur grew taller and stronger day by day. No other miracle
marked his childhood days apart from the event already described. The boy drank the
milk of an English cow, was brought up by an English nanny, tutored in English by an

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 Englishman, saw nothing but English films exactly as the crown princes of all the other
Indian states did. When he came of age at twenty, the State, which had been with the
Court of Wards until then, came into his hands.
1. How was the tiger king brought up?
A. By royalty
B. In penury
C. Beggarly
D. None of these
Ans (A) By royalty

2. Who is a nanny?
A. Nurse
B. Nursemaid
C. Custodian of a child
D. None of these
Ans (C) Custodian of a child

3. At what age was he handed in the throne?

A. 10 Years
B. 15 Years
C. 20 Years
D. 25 Years
Ans (C) 20 Years

4. What is the court of wards?

A. A legal body created by East India Company
B. An illegal body created by East India Company
C. A neutral body created by East India Company
D. None of these
Ans (A) A legal body created by East India Company

Stand Alone MCQs

i ‘The Maharaja’s anxiety reached a fever pitch…’ Which of these sentences DOES
NOT use the phrase ‘reached a fever pitch’ correctly.
a) When the bidding reached a fever pitch, one of the team’s absence was notable.

APNI KAKSHA 5
b) The excitement of the audience reached a fever pitch when they saw the star perform.
c) The scenic beauty of the place reached a fever pitch when it began to snow.
d) The climax of the film reached fever pitch when the protagonist was assassinated.
Ans (c)

ii Pick the statement that is NOT an example of satire from the story.
a) The twist of fate when the toy tiger proved to be fatal for the king.
b) News of king’s ailment got the attention of not one, but three surgeons.
c) King wilfully exploiting nature and subjects for his selfish interests.
d) The king celebrates his triumph but readers anticipate his doom.
Ans (d)

iii The story conveys the idea of transience of life and power. Pick the pair of proverbs
that DO NOT relate to this idea.
1. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
2. There is many a slip between a cup and a lip.
3. Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
4. Don’t cross that bridge till you come to it.
a) 1 and 4
b) 2 and 3
c) 2 and 4
d) 3 and 4
Ans (b)

iv. ‘Even the threat of a Stuka bomber will not throw me off track.’ This sentence
shows that the author has a
a) firm resolve to narrate the story.
b) humorous way of conveying an idea.
c) logical style of convincing the reader.
d) rhetorical manner of writing a story.
Ans (b)

Read And Find Out

Q1. Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name?
Ans. The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was called the Tiger King. At the time of his birth the
astrologers declared that the prince would have to die one day. The ten-day-old prince

APNI KAKSHA 6
 asked the astrologers to reveal the manner of his death. The wise men were baffled at this
miracle. The chief astrologer said that his death would come from a tiger. The young
prince growled and uttered terrifying words: ‘Let tigers beware!’ He decided to kill one
hundred tigers. He, thus, got the name ‘Tiger King’.
Q2. What did the royal infant grow up to be?
Ans. Crown prince Jung Jung Bahadur grew taller and stronger day-by-day. He was brought up
by an English nanny and tutored in English by an Englishman. He got the control of his
state when he came of age at twenty. He decided to kill tigers. For him it was an act of
self-defence, as the astrologers had predicted his death by a tiger
Q3. What will the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill?
Ans. Within ten years the Maharaja was able to kill seventy tigers. Then the tiger population
became extinct in the forests of Pratibandapuram. One day the Maharaja sent for the
dewan and asked him if he was aware of the fact that thirty tigers still remained to be
shot down by his gun. The dewan shuddered with fear. The Maharaja told him that he had
decided to get married. He asked the dewan to draw up statistics of tiger populations in
different native states. Then he was to investigate if there was a girl he could marry in the
royal family of a state with a large tiger population. This plan was put into practice. The
dewan found the right girl from a state which possessed a large number of tigers. The
Maharaja killed five or six tigers each time he visited his father-in-law. Thus, he was able
to find the required number of tigers to kill. He shot ninety-nine tigers.
Q4. How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which was
supposed to decide his fate?
Ans. Maharaja’s anxiety reached the highest level of excitement when only one tiger remained
to be killed. He thought of the hundredth tiger during the day and dreamt of it at night.
But tiger farms ran dry even in his father-in-law’s kingdom. It became impossible to
locate tigers anywhere. If he could kill just that one single beast, the Maharaja would have
no fear left. As the late chief astrologer had said that Maharaja should beware of the
hundredth tiger. The Maharaja was sunk in gloom. Then came a happy news. In his own
state sheep began to disappear frequently from a hillside village. Surely, a tiger was at
work. The villagers ran to inform the Maharaja. The Maharaja announced a three-year
exemption from all taxes for that village. He set out on the hunt at once. But the tiger was
not easily found. The Maharaja continued camping in the forest and waiting for the tiger.
Q5. What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy was
indisputably disproved?
Ans. In order to save his skin, the dewan got an old tiger brought from the People’s Park in
Madras. It was kept hidden in his house. One midnight with the help of his aged wife, he

APNI KAKSHA 7
 dragged the tiger to the car and shoved it into the seat. He himself drove the car straight
to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting. The dewan hauled the beast out of the car
and pushed it down to the ground. Next day, the same old tiger wandered into the
Maharaja’s presence. The Maharaja was overjoyed. He took careful aim at the beast. The
tiger fell down in a crumpled heap. The Maharaja was extremely happy that he had killed
the hundredth tiger.
The hunters found that the old tiger was not dead. It had only fainted on hearing the
sound of the bullet. They did not want the Maharaja to know this fact and lose their jobs. I
So one of them shot at it and killed it. The dead tiger was taken in procession through the
town and buried there. A tomb was erected over it.
The prophecy was not disproved as the king met his death with the infection caused by
the sliver of a wooden tiger. The astrologer was already dead. He could not be punished
or rewarded.

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?
Ans. The Maharaja embodies the concept of a powerful man who tends to defy his fate. He is
an autocratic dictator who uses his entire might to fulfil his eccentric mission to kill a
hundred tigers. The writer ridicules the ways that the Maharaja uses to fulfil his vow. He
even marries a girl for the purpose of killing the tigers. The way taxes and bans are
imposed and cancelled is mocking.
The irony is that despite the killing a hundred tigers, the cause of his death is nothing else
but a tiger made of wood. The very name of the kingdom Pratibandapuram’ is an example
of irony as it means a city of restrictions. But, ironically, there is no restriction for anyone.
The story ends with a very ironical statement that death can creep from the most
harmless quarters.
2. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the
wilfulness of human beings?
Ans. The story is a comment on subjecting innocent animals to the wilfulness of human beings.
The king killed a hundred tigers just to prove the astrologers wrong. At the time of his
birth, the astrologers had predicted that he would meet his death from a tiger. Just to
prove himself mightier than the tigers, the Maharaja ruthlessly killed a hundred innocent
tigers. It was his pursuit to prove himself the most powerful that he didn’t care about
killing innocent animals. He wanted to defy his fate and ultimately his death. But,
ironically enough, he met his end from a tiger though it was a wooden one.
APNI KAKSHA 8
3. How would you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions towards him? Do
you find them truly sincere or are they driven by fear when they obey him? Do we
find a similarity in today’s political order?
Ans. The Maharaja’s minions were scared of him but had no respect for him. They all obeyed
him because they didn’t want to lose their jobs. In fact, they all were sycophants. Just to
please him, they supported his plan to kill a hundred tigers. Even the Dewan had no
courage to give the right advice to the king rather he made efforts to please the king by
bringing an old tiger from a circus from Madras.
Moreover, when the Maharaja missed his target, his hunters didn’t tell him for fear of
losing their jobs and killed it themselves. So it was only fear and not sincerity towards the
king that the minions displayed.
A similar situation prevails in the present political order. No officer wants to go against
the boss and be courageous enough to speak the truth. They simply follow the rule “Boss
is always Right!”
4. Can you relate instances of game-hunting among the rich and the powerful in the
present times that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife?
Ans. In our times, big game-hunting has been banned by law as so many species of wildlife
have been declared endangered species. Sanctuaries, national parks and games reserves
have been established to preserve wildlife from extinction and maintain ecological
balance in nature. Even then sporadic cases of game-hunting are reported in newspapers
now and then. It is generally noticed that the erstwhile rulers—kings or nawabs or the
rich and powerful persons or famous film stars indulge in game-hunting. The cases
against late M.A.K. Pataudi and Salman Khan are still pending in courts. Poachers and
smugglers too destroy wildlife for skin, meat or for various organs of body and escape
scot-free.
5. We need a new system for the age of ecology—a system which is embedded in the
care of all people and also in the care of the Earth and all life upon it. Discuss.
Ans. Modem age is the age of ecology. A new consciousness has arisen among human beings.
Animals and birds are as much part of nature as human beings. The destruction or
haphazard killing of one species may not only lead to its extinction, but it will adversely
affect the ecological balance. Those animals which serve as food for the wild animals will
increase in large number, if the beasts of prey are wiped out. Each species, howsoever
fierce, deadly, ferocious or poisonous has its own role in the scheme of things. We must
devise a new system. It must focus on the care of all living beings on the Earth as well as
the Earth itself and all life—vegetative or animal living on it. Steps have to be taken to
preserve ecological balance in nature and prevent environmental pollution. Unpolluted

APNI KAKSHA 9
 air, water and food can make all living beings healthy and enable them to enjoy longer
fives
Previous Year Question Answers
Q1. What gave the astrologers the greatest surprise of their life while they were
studying the horoscope of the ten-day old prince? (Foreign 2014)
Ans. When the astrologers were reading the horoscope of the little prince, they were taken by
surprise when the ten-day old infant asked about the manner of his death. When the chief
astrologer told him that a tiger would be the cause of his death, the baby retorted with
arrogance, “Let the tigers beware!”
Q2. How did the Maharaja please a high ranking officer? (Compartment 2014)
Ans. A high ranking British officer visited the state of Pratibandapuram and sought permission
for tiger hunting from the Maharaja. The Maharaja declined his request, but as he did not
want to upset the officer, he sent fifty diamond rings to the officer’s wife which cost the
king three , lakh rupees.
Q3. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state? (Delhi 2014)
Ans. As the prince was crowned the king, the astrologer’s prediction regarding his (the king’s)
death by a tiger reached his ears. This prompted the Maharaja to kill a tiger but the
astrologer informed him that he had to successfully kill hundred tigers to escape the
prophecy. Thus, in order to reach that mark, the Maharaja banned tiger hunting in the
state except for himself.
Q4. Why did the Maharaja decide to get married? (Compartment 2014)
or
What is the reason lor the Tiger King’s sudden decision to marry? (Compartment
2014)
Ans. In order to defeat the astrologer’s prophecy, the Maharaja had to kill a hundred tigers. He
had already killed seventy tigers and the tiger population in his state neared extinction.
For this reason, he wished to marry a girl in the royal family of a state with a rich tiger
population, where he would kill the rest of the tigers.
Q5. Why did the Maharaja double the land tax? (All India 2014)
Ans. The Maharaja had successfully killed ninety-nine tigers but struggled hard to find the
hundredth tiger. Once, there came a news of a tiger being spotted at a hillside village but
it turned out to be untrue. This infuriated the Maharaja, who ordered the dewan to
double the land tax in order to punish the villagers for the false news.
Q6. How did the Tiger King become the victim of the hundredth tiger? (Foreign 2014)
or

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 How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his fate? (All India
2009)
Ans. The Tiger King met his end through the wooden tiger, which he had bought as a gift for
his son on his third birthday. While he was playing with his son, a splinter of the poorly
made toy tiger pricked the king’s hand. The infection turned into a sore, which spread all
over his arm. In spite of the best surgeons, the king’s life could not be saved. The irony is
in the fact that in spite of killing nearly all the tigers in the area, he had to face his death
by a toy tiger
Q7. What, sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the high-ranking British
officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal? (All India 2013)
Ans. Tiger hunting was banned in Pratibandapuram. When the British official came with a
tiger hunt request, the Maharaja told him that he may conduct a boar hunt, a mouse hunt,
even a mosquito hunt, but not a tiger hunt. In reply to this, the British officer said that he
only wanted to be photographed holding a gun and standing ewer the dead body; the
tiger could be killed by the Maharaja. This shows the shallowness of character of the
officer.
Q8. Why was the Maharaja so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger? (AR India 2012)
Ans. When the Maharaja was barely ten days old, the chief astrologer had predicted that a
tiger would be the cause of his death. When the Maharaja was twenty, he killed one tiger.
When he asked his astrologer, the astrologer said that he would kill ninety-nine tigers,
but he should be fearful of the hundredth tiger. That was the reason why the Maharaja
was so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger.
Q9. What warning did the astrologer give the Tiger King when he killed the first tiger?
Did the prediction of the astrologer come to be true? (Foreign 2011)
Ans. When the Maharaja boasted about killing the first tiger, the astrologer said that he may
kill ’ ninety-nine tigers, but must be “very careful with the hundredth tiger.” Yes, the
astrologer was absolutely true in this prediction, because finally the Maharaja was killed
by the hundredth tiger.
Q10. How did the Dewan manage to arrange the hundredth tiger for the Maharaja?
(Foreign 2011)
Ans. The Dewan had brought a tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and kept it hidden in his
house. When the Maharaja threatened him with dire consequences, he understood that
the only way to save himself was to ‘plant’ a tiger for the kill. So, he and his aged wife
dragged the tiger to the forest where the king was hunting. The king took aim and the
beast soon collapsed.

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 Important Short Question Answers
Q1. Who is the Tiger King?
Ans. The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram is the Tiger King of the story. He was known in his
kingdom by different names as His Highness Jamedar, General Khiledar-Major, Sata-
Vyaghra samhari, Maharajadhiraja Visva Bhuvana samrat, Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur,
M.A.D., A.C.T.C., or C.R.C.K.
Q2. How did the chief astrologer react to the tiger king’s question about the manner of
his death? How did the tiger king take it?
Ans. When the baby was barely ten days old, opens its lips in speech. The chief astrologer was
wonderstruck. He thought it to be incredible that the baby raised an intelligent question –
to know about the manner of his death. The astrologer told that the prince was born in
the hour of the bull. The bull and tiger are enemies. Therefore, death to him shall come
from the Tiger. The tiger king growled, “Let tigers beware!”
Q3. What did the State astrologer say he would do ‘if the hundredth tiger were also
killed’?
Ans. The State astrologer was so sure of his prediction that he announced that he would cut off
his ceremonial tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance agent in case the king
was able to kill the 100th tiger, too. He was sure that the Maharaja’s death would be
caused by the 100th tiger.
Q4. What did the high-ranking British officer wish to do? Was his wish fulfilled?
Ans. The high-ranking British officer wanted to kill a tiger. When he was denied the
permission for hunting, he sent a word to the king that he would be happy if he was
allowed to get photographed with the dead body of a tiger killed by the king. However,
his wish remained unfulfilled.
Q5. Why did the dewan warn the Maharaja not to double the land tax forthwith? What
was the reaction of the Maharaja?
Ans. The hundredth tiger was not located. The Maharaja’s anger was at its height. He called the
dewan and ordered him to double the land-tax forthwith. The dewan warned that the
people would rise in revolt. Then their state too would fall a prey to the Indian National
Congress. The king didn’t relent. He told the dewan that in that case he might resign from
his post.
Q6. How did the tiger king celebrate his victory over the killing of the 100th tiger?
Ans. The Maharaja thought that he had killed the hundredth tiger. He was overcome with
elation. He ordered the tiger to be brought to the capital in grand procession. The
dead tiger was taken in a procession through the town. It was buried and a tomb was
erected over it.
APNI KAKSHA 12
Q7. What was the Dewan’s tiger like? How did he take it into the forest?
Ans. Dewan’s tiger was an old tiger. It was not ferocious and agile. It was passive and
exhausted. He was pushed down to the ground. He wandered into the Maharaja’s
presence and stood as if in humble supplication. The tiger was kept hidden in Dewan’s
house. At midnight when the town slept in peace, the Dewan and his wife dragged the
tiger into the car drove straight to the forest
Q8. What caused the death of the Maharaja?
Ans. The prophecy of the chief astrologer came true. A toy-wooden tiger-the hundredth tiger
killed the Maharaja. The silver quill on the wooden tiger pierced his hand when he was
playing with it on the crown prince’s third birthday. It caused a suppurating sore that
spread all over the arm. He was operated but died.
Q9. What did the Maharaja buy as a birthday gift for his son?
Ans. The Maharaja wished to give his son a very special gift on his birthday and he bought a
wooden toy tiger as a perfect birthday gift for his son.
Q10. How did the king’s arm become seriously infected?
Ans. The king’s arm had got infected from a prick caused by one of the slivers on the wooden
tiger. In one day, the infection got flared in the Maharaja’s right hand and in four days it
developed into a suppurating sore which spread all over the arm. Though he was
operated yet he died.
Important Long Question Answers
Q1. Justify the title ‘The Tiger King’.
Ans. “The Tiger King” is a very appropriate title for the story for several reasons. First of all,
the king is crazy about tiger hunting so much that he marries a princess whose father’s
kingdom has a sizeable tiger population. He kills one hundred tigers just to fulfil his vow.
Secondly, the king with all his frenzy, anger and ruthlessness is as ferocious as a tiger.
Thirdly, he dies of a silver prick received from a wooden toy tiger. Finally, the prediction
that a tiger would cause the king’s death also comes true. Since the story revolves round
the king and the hundred tigers that he kills, it could not be better titled than “The Tiger
King” .
Q2. Pick out the instances of satire in the story ‘The Tiger King’.
Ans. Satire employs irony, sarcasm, ridicule, etc. in exposing and criticizing follies and vices in
men. The story uses humour to criticize self-seeking Kings who wilfully exploit both
nature and their subjects for selfish interests.
1. When the Maharaja of Pratibandhpuram was told that he would be killed by a tiger,
he could never imagine the twist in fate where a toy tiger could be fatal. Because of
his conceit, he was unprepared for such surprises flung by life at him.
APNI KAKSHA 13
 2. The grandeur associated with a king’s life proves a mockery. The news of the king’s
ailment invited not one, but three surgeons. They got so tied up in technicalities that
they declared the operation successful even though the king died.
3. The story also satirizes the corrupting influence of power. Just because the Tiger King
had power, he felt he could browbeat his subjects and even defeat fate. He neglected
his responsibility as a ruler. He neglected the welfare of his subjects, his family,
increased and reduced taxes at will and sacked his officers. They feared him or else
he would have learnt the truth.
4. When we see the king gloating over his bravery after killing the hundredth old, weak
tiger, we notice that Kalki is satirizing the notions of cowardice and bravery. There is
no heroism in fighting an unequal battle. The King’s cowardice was obvious when he
justifies that one may kill even a cow in self-defence.
5. Kalki is also criticizing the King’s men and subjects who pander to his whims out of
fear or like the shopkeeper manipulate and fool him.
Q3. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the
wilfulness of human beings?
Ans. Through this satirical story the author has rightly portrayed how human beings have
subjected innocent animals to untold torture and death, merely to fulfil their own whims
and fancies. The maharaja’s indiscriminate killing of tigers led to their extinction in some
states, but the maharaja was oblivious to the grave consequences his action was leading
to. In order to prove an astrologer wrong the maharaja went on a killing spree proving his
dominance over the hapless animals.
Q4. 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?
Ans. Maharaja’s minions were subservient and sycophantic. Most of them were scared of
Maharaja and tried to keep him in good humour by obeying his orders. They did not dare
to disobey him as his displeasure could mean loss of their job or even loss of their lives.
The astrologer was afraid of predicting his death, till Maharaja told him to “speak without
fear”. Dewan who should have advised the king not to kill the tigers did not dare to go
against his wishes and aided his marriage to a princess whose father’s kingdom
possessed a large number of tigers. Being afraid of losing his job, he presented an old
tiger to satisfy the whims of his Maharaja. Likewise, the hunters chose not to inform him
of the survival of the 100th tiger and instead killed it themselves fearing that they might
lose their jobs. Even the shopkeeper, who sold the king a cheap wooden toy tiger, quoted
a higher price lest he should be punished under the rules of emergency. So, it is evident

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 that the king’s minions were driven by fear rather than any feelings of sincerity towards
their ruler.
Q5. The Tiger King is a satire on the pride and power Of Maharaja of
Pratibandapuram. Describe the use of dramatic irony leading to the death of the
Tiger King.
Ans. The Tiger King is a satire on the pride and stubbornness of those in power. 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. Not that the King didn’t try his best
to belie the prediction. His campaign of tiger-hunting was very successful. He was single
minded and determined. But the satirical aspect of the whole story is the King’s inability
to kill the hundredth tiger. 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.

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