The Tiger King
Kalki
Summary
This is a story about a Maharaja who tried to kill a hundred tigers to avoid death at any cost. This is a satire on the life of a king who lived in the colonial period in India. Apart from a satire on the futility of avoiding death, this story also pokes fun at the sense of power prevalent among the powerless kings of the numerous princely states which tried to hold on to their kingdoms during the colonial rule.
When the king was borne, astrologers predicted that he would be killed by a tiger. According to the hubris , when the 10 days’ old prince asks, the astrologers say that he would be eventually killed by the hundredth tiger, even if the king would succeed in killing 99 tigers. When the Maharaja reaches adulthood, he begins his hunting spree and wipes off all the tigers in his kingdom. Still significantly short of the magic figure, the Maharaja marries a princess whose kingdom has a sizeable population of tigers. Eventually, the Maharaja finishes off killing all the tigers in his in-law’s estate.
After that he continues to search for the hundredth tiger but all his efforts go in vain. His Dewan arranges for the last tiger from a zoo, because the Dewan does not want to lose his job. When the king tries to kill the hundredth tiger, the bullet misses the target but the tiger is knocked out of its senses out of fear.
As per the king’s direction, staffs have to arrange for a grand procession with the hunt. Seeing that the tiger was still alive, one of the staffs shoots bullet to finally kill that tiger. Happy with his apparent success, and free from all the worries, the king is celebrating the birthday of his son. The king buys a wooden tiger as birthday gift for his son. A sharp fragment of wood from the toy tiger injures the king’s hand. Eventually, the infection spreads to the whole body and the king finally dies. Thus, the forecast by the astrologer comes true as the king is killed by the hundredth tiger.
Reading With Insight
Question 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: Irony is a literary technique by which the full significance of the character’s words or actions is known to the audience but the character is unaware of it. There are many instances in this story where irony is used. One of the examples is of the incidence when the Maharaja spends a princely sum on diamond rings in order to save his kingdom. In another instance, the Maharaja thinks that the hundredth tiger had been killed but the fact indicates to the contrary.
Question 2: What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?
Answer: The main protagonist of the story portrays the height of atrocities against animals. In order to avoid death at all costs, the Maharaja or the Tiger King goes on a killing spree to reach the century of tiger hunt. While doing so, he seldom thinks about the life of an animal which is so important to the ecosystem. Author even talks about some British officials who derive a sadistic pleasure by hunting animals.
Question 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: Maharaja’s minions always face a situation in which the Damocles’ sword is hanging over their head. They always run the risk of losing their job, or in the worst case even losing their life. So, the minions always obey the Maharaja out of fear rather than out of sincerity. Same culture can be seen in today’s political order. In almost every political party in our country, a strongman and his chosen coteries control the party to turn it into a one man show. Others just toe the line of the party headman in order to survive and thrive in the political game.
Question 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 wild life?
Answer: With strict enforcement of laws regarding conservation, game hunting is a thing of the past. But poachers still carry out their business because of the lure of big money by selling animal parts and organs in the grey market. Apart from that, many powerful and influential people stray sometimes and end up killing an innocent animal just for the fun of it. This shows the callousness of human beings towards wildlife. Majority of the people still think about lessons on conservation as an opportunity of lip-service and photo ops. They still have to truly understand the significance of wildlife conservation.
Question 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.
Answer: It is true that 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. Let us try to understand it in terms of two important issues, i.e. care of people and care of the earth.
Conservation is necessary for prevention of ecological disaster. But conservation laws and related government machinery have always stifled the life of common people out of overzealousness. You may recall some lessons from science which tell that new forest laws alienated a vast section of people who depended on wildlife and forest for their day to day needs. Many tribes were forbidden to enter forests which had been their playground since so many generations. It altered the life of tribes for worse. So, people’s involvement in conservation effort is the need of the hour. You can take example of the case of Arabari forest in West Bengal (from class 10th science) where the smart officer involved people and produced wonderful results which were beneficial for both people and wildlife. You can also take the example of Chipko Movement, which is a people’s movement towards conservation.