The Tiger King

the tiger king, about its author, his works, a brief summary of the lesson

1. KALKI THE TIGER KING BY

2. Kalki R. Krishnamurthy   (1899 –1954)

3. Tamil writer, journalist, poet , short story writer, critic and Indian Independence activist . He was named after " Kalki avatar", the tenth and last  avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu.

4. His writings include 120 short stories 10 novellas 5 novels  3 historical romances editorial and political writings hundreds of film and music reviews

5. Social novels (Tamil) Kalvaninn Kaadhali (1937) Thiyaga Bhoomi (1938–1939) Magudapathi (1942) Abalayin kaneer (1947) Alai Osai (1948) Devagiyin Kanavan (1950) Mohini Theevu (1950) Poiman Karadu (1951) Punnaivanathu Puli (1952) Amara Thara (1954)

6. The Tiger King (A Political Satire) A satire on the conceit of those in power. Most of the time the rulers are not interested in serving the people or work for the welfare of the public; instead they spend their time in foolish pursuits. Here is a story about transience of life, of power and reverberates the maxim: “Too many slips between the cup and the lip”.

7. The Tiger King The story revolves around a King whose death at the hands of a tiger had been foretold by astrologers when he was born. He tries to reverse the fate spelled out for him and the author uses thinly-veiled satire to walk the reader through the King's attempts which later prove futile, in a manner that makes them laugh.

8. The Title: Very appropriate title: Reasons He kills 100 tigers just to fulfill his vows. The king with all his frenzy anger and ruthlessness is as ferocious as a tiger. He dies of a silver prick received from a wooden tiger.

9. Characters The Tiger King The Astrologer The Secretary of the British officer The Dewan The Durai The Duraisani The Villagers

10. Location Pre-Independent India The Kingdom of Pratibandapuram

11. Light humour in The Tiger King The instance of the Stuka bomber The king’s offer of mouse hunt etc The incoherent blabbering by the Dewan and the Chief Astrologer The Dewan procuring an old tiger from people’s park and its stubborn refusal to get off the car and the description of its waiting in humble supplication to be shot. The shopkeeper quoting three hundred rupees for a cheap two annas and a quarter  toy tiger

12. Irony and Satire in ‘The Tiger King’ reveals the follies of autocratic and willful rulers who flout all laws and bend them to suit their selfish interests.   dramatic irony in the story is sharp when the Tiger King alone is unaware that his bullet had not killed the hundredth tiger.

13. Questions Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Explain. Describe the behaviour of the minions of the Maharaja? How do you describe the Tiger King as a father, husband and a human being? What was the King’s reaction to the predictions made by the astrologer? How is the story “The Tiger King” a satire on the political order of today?

14. Corruption breeds vanity, conceit, lies and disharmony. Autocratic/ unstable/ idiosyncratic/ obstinate/ egoistic/ insensitive, no practical approach to problems. 2. puppets/ spread muscle power and fear/ not to displease the rulers/ astrologer an exception/ Dewan -not serious but scared . Value Points

15. The Tiger King Board Questions(2012-2017 ) Why was the Maharaja so anxious to kill the 100 th tiger? (30-40) (2) 2012 What sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the high-ranking British officers? What triat of the officer does it reveal? (30-40) (2) 2013 Why did the Maharaja order the dewan to double the land tax? (30-40) (2) 2014

16. When was the Tiger king in danger of losing his throne? (30-40) (3) 2015 Even today so many among us believe in superstitions. An astrologer predicted about the Tiger King that he would be killed by a tiger. He killed 100 tigers yet was himself killed by a tiger. How did the superstitious belief prevail? (120-150) (6) 2015

17. 6. Why did the Maharaja decide to get married? (3) 2017

18. Webpedia for reference Tamilnation.org Projecttiger.nic.in Saveourtigers.com