Class 12 English Notes Chapter 2 (The Tiger King) – Vistas Book
Right then, let's focus on Chapter 2, 'The Tiger King' from your Vistas textbook. This story by Kalki is a brilliant satire and often features in competitive exams due to its themes and ironic twist. Pay close attention to the details.
The Tiger King (Chapter 2 - Vistas)
Author: Kalki (Ramaswamy Aiyer Krishnamurthy)
Genre: Satire, Political Commentary, Short Story
Setting: The fictional Indian princely state of Pratibandapuram.
Central Theme: The story satirizes the pride, eccentricity, and tyranny of absolute rulers, particularly the Maharajas of the pre-independence princely states. It explores themes of fate vs. free will, power, hubris, and ecological imbalance caused by human vanity.
Characters:
- The Tiger King (Maharaja Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur):
- The protagonist. Known by various titles but famously as the Tiger King.
- Character Traits: Arrogant, eccentric, self-obsessed, stubborn, determined (in his foolish quest), easily angered, whimsical, brave (initially), and ultimately foolish. His entire life revolves around disproving an astrological prediction.
- Motivation: To defy the prophecy that he would be killed by a tiger, specifically the 100th tiger he encounters.
- Chief Astrologer:
- Makes the prophecy about the infant prince's death by a tiger.
- Stands by his prediction even when threatened by the Maharaja. Represents fate and traditional belief systems.
- The Dewan:
- The Maharaja's chief minister.
- Character Traits: Sycophantic, timid, resourceful (in a desperate way), practical (tries to manage the Maharaja's whims). He fears the Maharaja's wrath and goes to great lengths to appease him, including arranging the marriage and procuring the 100th tiger.
- Duraisani:
- The wife of the high-ranking British officer. Her greed for diamond rings helps the Maharaja save his kingdom after refusing the officer permission to hunt. Represents the vanity and materialism sometimes associated with colonial figures.
- High-Ranking British Officer:
- Wishes to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram and be photographed with the kill. Represents the interference and demands of the British Raj. The Maharaja's refusal puts his kingdom at risk.
Detailed Plot Summary:
- The Prophecy: When the Maharaja is just a 10-day-old infant, astrologers predict he will die. The infant miraculously speaks, demanding to know the manner of death. The chief astrologer reveals it will be a tiger. The infant scoffs, "Let tigers beware!"
- Upbringing & Vow: The prince grows up like other crown princes, under English influence. At age 20, he ascends the throne and learns of the prophecy. He immediately vows to kill 100 tigers to nullify the prediction.
- The Tiger Hunt Begins: The Maharaja starts his campaign. He bans tiger hunting by anyone else in Pratibandapuram on pain of confiscation of property. He faces dangers but succeeds in killing tigers.
- The Astrologer's Condition: After killing the first tiger, he summons the astrologer, who reiterates that the danger is not from the first 99 tigers, but specifically from the hundredth tiger. He vows to cut off his ceremonial tuft, crop his hair, and become an insurance agent if he is wrong.
- Saving the Kingdom: A high-ranking British officer visits and wants to hunt a tiger. The Maharaja refuses permission, risking the loss of his kingdom (durbar) to the British. To placate the officer (and his wife), the Maharaja sends about 50 expensive diamond rings to the Duraisani, expecting her to choose one or two. She keeps them all, costing the Maharaja three lakh rupees, but his kingdom is secured.
- Depleting Tiger Population: The Maharaja successfully kills 70 tigers in his state. The tiger population becomes extinct in Pratibandapuram.
- Marriage Strategy: On the Dewan's advice, the Maharaja decides to marry a princess from a state with a large tiger population. He instructs the Dewan to find a suitable match based on tiger statistics.
- Continuing the Hunt: He marries and continues his hunt whenever he visits his father-in-law's state, eventually killing 99 tigers.
- The Hundredth Tiger: Finding the 100th tiger becomes extremely difficult. Tigers seem extinct even in his father-in-law's state. The Maharaja's frustration grows; he becomes furious, raises land taxes, and dismisses officers.
- The Dewan's Solution: Fearing the Maharaja's rage, the desperate Dewan arranges for an old, weak tiger to be brought from the People's Park in Madras and released in the forest where the Maharaja is hunting.
- The 'Killing': The Maharaja finds the old tiger. He takes careful aim and fires. The tiger collapses. Overjoyed at having 'killed' the 100th tiger and defying fate, the Maharaja orders the carcass brought to the capital in grand procession and leaves.
- The Truth: The hunters approach the tiger and find it alive; it had only fainted from the shock of the bullet whizzing past. Fearing the Maharaja's reaction if he found out, one of the hunters shoots the tiger dead. This fact is concealed from the Maharaja.
- The Final Irony: The Maharaja, believing he is safe, turns his attention to his three-year-old son. He buys a cheap, poorly crafted wooden tiger as a birthday present.
- The Death: While playing with his son, a tiny sliver of wood from the toy tiger pierces the Maharaja's right hand. The wound becomes infected, develops pus, and spreads. Despite renowned surgeons performing an operation, the Maharaja dies.
- Prophecy Fulfilled: The narrative concludes with the ironic statement: "In this manner the hundredth tiger took its final revenge upon the Tiger King." The prophecy is fulfilled, not by a real tiger, but by a toy one, highlighting the inescapable nature of destiny and the ultimate foolishness of the King's quest.
Themes for Exam Focus:
- Satire on Royalty: Exposes the vanity, arrogance, cruelty, and foolishness of autocratic rulers who neglect their duties for personal obsessions.
- Irony:
- Situational Irony: The King spends his life fighting tigers only to be killed by a wooden toy tiger. He thinks he killed the 100th tiger, but he didn't.
- Dramatic Irony: The reader knows the 100th tiger wasn't killed by the King, but the King himself remains ignorant.
- Fate vs. Free Will: Despite all his efforts to control destiny and defy the prophecy, the Maharaja ultimately succumbs to it in a completely unexpected way.
- Abuse of Power: The Maharaja uses his absolute power arbitrarily – banning hunting, raising taxes, dismissing officers, forcing the Dewan into desperate measures, and causing the near-extinction of tigers in two states.
- Man vs. Nature: The senseless slaughter of animals for ego and sport, leading to ecological imbalance.
Style:
- Humorous and Exaggerated: Kalki uses hyperbole (like the infant speaking) and wit to create humour.
- Conversational Tone: The narrator often addresses the reader directly, making the story engaging.
- Mock-Heroic: Treats a foolish character and his absurd quest with mock seriousness.
Key Takeaways for Exams:
- Remember the exact prophecy and the astrologer's condition.
- Understand the reasons behind the Maharaja's actions (defying fate).
- Note the sequence of events, especially the British officer incident, the marriage, and the procurement of the 100th tiger.
- Crucially, understand the irony surrounding the death of the 99th real tiger and the final death caused by the wooden tiger.
- Be able to identify and explain the key themes, especially satire and irony.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs):
-
What prediction did the chief astrologer make about the Tiger King's death?
a) Death by snakebite
b) Death by a tiger
c) Death in a battle
d) Death by drowning -
Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in his state?
a) To conserve the tiger population.
b) To prove the astrologer's prediction wrong himself.
c) Because the British government ordered it.
d) Because he feared tigers. -
How did the Maharaja prevent a high-ranking British officer from hunting a tiger in Pratibandapuram?
a) He bribed the officer directly with money.
b) He refused permission and risked his kingdom.
c) He sent expensive diamond rings to the officer's wife.
d) He offered the officer other forms of shikar (hunting). -
The Maharaja married a princess from a state chosen primarily for:
a) Its political alliance.
b) The beauty of the princess.
c) Its large tiger population.
d) Its proximity to Pratibandapuram. -
How many tigers had the Maharaja actually killed before he encountered the 'hundredth' tiger arranged by the Dewan?
a) 100
b) 90
c) 99
d) 70 -
What was the actual fate of the 'hundredth' tiger that the Maharaja shot at?
a) It died instantly from the bullet.
b) It escaped into the forest wounded.
c) It fainted from the shock of the bullet missing it.
d) It attacked the Maharaja before dying. -
Who actually killed the hundredth tiger?
a) The Maharaja
b) The Dewan
c) One of the hunters accompanying the Maharaja
d) The British officer -
The story 'The Tiger King' is primarily a:
a) Tragedy about a brave king.
b) Satire on the conceit of those in power.
c) Realistic account of tiger hunting.
d) Romantic tale of a prince. -
What ultimately caused the death of the Tiger King?
a) An attack by the 100th tiger.
b) An infection from a sliver of a wooden toy tiger.
c) A curse placed by the chief astrologer.
d) Assassination by his disgruntled subjects. -
The ending of the story, where the King dies due to a wooden tiger, is an example of:
a) Poetic Justice
b) Foreshadowing
c) Situational Irony
d) Metaphor
Answer Key for MCQs:
- b) Death by a tiger
- b) To prove the astrologer's prediction wrong himself.
- c) He sent expensive diamond rings to the officer's wife.
- c) Its large tiger population.
- c) 99
- c) It fainted from the shock of the bullet missing it.
- c) One of the hunters accompanying the Maharaja
- b) Satire on the conceit of those in power.
- b) An infection from a sliver of a wooden toy tiger.
- c) Situational Irony
Study these notes thoroughly. Understanding the plot, characters, and especially the satirical elements and irony is key for your exams. Good luck!