NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Vistas Chapter 2 the Tiger King

Humans mostly think about wild animals that they are more attacking. Because they have not received any kind of training, so they attack from a far. They have got used to living in all kinds of environment. They have to manage their own food and drink and shelter. In short, they live in very rough and tough conditions. But at the same time, they enjoy their life more than domestic animals because humans do not imprison them for their interests or earnings.

Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name?

The Tiger King is Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur, the king of Pratibandapuram. When the king was born the astrologers predicted that one day a tiger will kill this baby boy. He predicted that he would become a huge champion and warrior but a tiger would kill him. The child who was only 10 days old at that time was listening to these things. Growing up in life, he started tiger hunting and hunted many tigers very boldly after which he got his name as Tiger King.

What did the royal infant grow up to be?

The Royal infant was born into the royal family and was handed over the throne when he was 20 years old. He was the king of Pratibandapuram. After attaining adulthood, his only wish was to kill Tigers. He started hunting one by one with the intention of killing his hundredth tiger. He was mentally and physically strong, so he thought of challenging the astrologer who had predicted his death. The king’s full attention was tiger hunting and not servicing the people of his state.

What will the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill?

Within ten years the Maharaja was able to kill seventy tigers. After this the population of tigers declined in Pratibandapuram. Then one day the king called his dewan and said that he is still 30 tigers away from his target of hunting 100 tigers. The king told him that he had decided to get married. He asked the dewan to draw up statistics of tiger populations in neighboring states. Then his job was to investigate if there was a girl he could marry in the royal family of a state with a large tiger population. Dewan was able to find a state where there was a good population of tigers. The king killed five or six tigers each time he visited his in-laws. This way, he was able to find the required number of tigers to kill. He shot ninety-nine tigers.

How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which was supposed to decide his fate?

When the Tiger King was not getting his hundredth victim as tiger then he started feeling sad. He tried a lot for the last tiger, but there was no success from anywhere. In the midst of this sadness, the king got good news that sheep are decreasing rapidly in a nearby village which simply meant that Tiger is still alive. The king announced a three-year exemption from all taxes for that village. People also showed great eagerness to search the tiger but did not get any success. The king felt that people are not finding tiger properly. After this, the king told the Dewan to double the tax of that village so that people immediately looked for the tiger for not paying him increased taxes. When Dewan and the rest of the people of the palace realized that they can lose their jobs, Dewan found a tiger from the forest and brought it in his car to the King’s Palace. And this is how the king reached his 100th tiger.

What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy was indisputably disproved?

Astrologer was older when King was born and the former died when King hunted 99 tigers. His prediction turned out to be correct and the tiger became the reason for king’s death. But it was not a real tiger but a wooden tiger, whose small edge caused the infection and it became the reason for the death of the king. When the king failed to find the hundredth tiger and the desperation grew, the Dewan then decided to get a tiger from Madras and presented it to the Maharaja. Due to King’s misfortune, tiger survived because of missing the bullet at the hands of King and King was killed by an artificial tiger. The prophecy was not disproved as the king met his death with the infection caused by the sliver of a wooden tiger.

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?

This is a wonderful story written by Kalki which keeps the readers attached from beginning to end. This is also sarcasm on the people sitting in power because they consider God and nature to be the power of their hands. Something similar happened with the Maharaja of Pratibhapuram when he was born, about whom predictions were made and he left no stone unturned to prove the astrologer wrong when he grew up. Being a great warrior or mighty king, victory in the war was possible, but nothing was possible without the will of God. When the Maharaja was born, the cause of his death was predicted, but he refused to believe it and warned God with his actions. King’s death was due to the hundredth tiger only, but the way it was supposed to happen, it remains a thrilling experience for the readers.

What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?

The author has written in sarcasm that King was killing Tigers fast for his ambitions. It is illegal to kill wild animals, whoever they are. But King kept on killing tigers to show his power and prove astrologer wrong until he reached the 100 mark. Tigers were almost on the verge of extinction in Pratibandapuram by killing them, so Dewan had to bring hundredth tiger from Madras. This is a matter when India was a colony under British rule, if this had happened somewhere today, then the king or minister has to follow strict law in the tiger’s hunting from government’s side not for 100th killing but in very first hunting itself.

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?

There was nothing unusual about the King of Pratibandapuram and his group of ministers or the general public. The same thing happened that had been going on for centuries. All those who worked under the king were not loyal to him but were afraid of him. Dewan, fearing to lose his job or life, also brings a girl to the king and a tiger from Madras to fulfill his ambitions. He did not try to stop the king even once or to convince him. The fear of Maharaja was so much in advisors and secretaries that even if astrologer had predicted a killing of 100 men, Dewan would have happily brought humans for their King. This is story is about the time when those who opposed the king’s words were punished to death. Death however is not given in today’s era, but following orders continues in the same way as it used to be. This directly involves the personal interest of those working below political or administrative officers.

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?

Human beings have been hunting wildlife animals for several decades now for commercial use or hobby. Thousands of whales are killed annually for sale in the international market. There are number of purposes for which animals are killed which may include food and medicine, clothing, ornaments, research etc. Run by dangerous international networks, wildlife and animal parts are trafficked much like illegal drugs and arms. Some examples of illegal wildlife trade are well known, such as poaching of elephants for ivory and tigers for their skins and bones. However, countless other species are similarly overexploited, from marine turtles to timber trees. Illegal wildlife trade is driven by high profit margins and, in many cases, the high prices paid for rare species. Those from developed countries may act as brokers or middlemen facilitating the import or export of animals from poorer developing countries where locals are primarily responsible for the collection of the animals.

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.

India and rest of the world have taken many such steps in the last decade which are helpful in conserving wildlife. A campaign “Save Our Tigers” was initiated and the campaign soon reached over 100 million people worldwide and generated INR 95 million in funding for tiger conservation. Support has poured in from all corners – the Chief Ministers of various states and celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have appeared on television to voice their support for the campaign. Lakhs of children have participated in rallies, calling for the protection of India’s national animal. The Save Our Tigers campaign has been an unprecedented success, bringing tiger conservation to the forefront of India’s consciousness. The good news is we’ve also seen what’s working. WWF (World Wildlife Fund) has been part of successful wildlife recovery stories ranging from southern Africa’s black rhino to black bucks in the Himalayas. And this, in turn, is helping to protect rich and varied ecosystems while ensuring people continue to benefit from nature. People engaged in protecting animals and environments have been working for them for a long time and their work is commendable.

Write a character sketch of the King.

The king of Pratibandapuram was a mighty warrior, a valiant man who was never afraid of defeat. The king is a hero due to his bravery. He is given a list of titles to emphasize on his greatness. To sum up all the titles in one, the king is called ‘The Tiger King’. His spirits were high and he was eager to prove his predictions wrong. This king did not do any work for his people and state and after taking over the throne, he was determined to make his biggest ambition successful. And in the end what nature has written in his life becomes true.

When was the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom?

A British officer visited Pratibhapuram. He was fond of photography. He aroused the desire to kill Tiger and take a photo with him, but Tiger King refused. Now that officer sent a message from his secretary that the king can hunt himself if he wants, he only wants to take photographs with the corpse. The stubborn king did not even allow it. After consecutive refusal, Tiger King stood in danger of losing his kingdom.

How did the Tiger king manage to retain his kingdom?

The king sent 50 diamond rings from Calcutta to please the wife of a British officer to save his kingdom. The Maharaja expected that the officer’s wife would keep some rings and send the rest back, but she kept all 50 and sent a thank you message in return. The king paid a hefty price of three lakh rupees but by giving it he could save his kingdom and he did not regret it.

Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in his state?

The Maharaja banned tiger hunting in his state. First, he wanted to prove the astrologer wrong that made prediction about him years ago. He strongly feels that human strength is the biggest thing a man has. No forecast can do anything with human destiny. Second, He wanted to show his power by killing tigers and putting their skins in his palace. Third, when King was 30 tigers away from his figure of 100 and there was a shortage of tigers, then King got the hunt of tigers completely banned so that no one else can do tiger hunting apart for king himself.

Why did the Maharaja think of getting married? How did Dewan help him in marriage?

The Maharaja had hunted 70 tigers in Pratibandapuram when the tigers suddenly stopped appearing. Then King became sad and worried. Then he got the idea that if he marries a girl from a kingdom where there are many tigers, then his work will become easier. In order to find the girl, the king asked the Dewan to find out the number of tigers from the neighboring states. Dewan did this work in no time and got the Maharaja married in such a state where there was a good number of tigers.

Why did the king order the Dewan to double the tax?

The king was desperate for his hundredth hunt and quite unfortunately he could not find it. The village where the number of sheep started decreasing rapidly, it was clearly indicated that it is a tiger who is hunting those sheep. Then the king ordered that the villagers should be engaged in search of tiger, otherwise they would have to pay double the tax. He hoped that people would soon find tiger to avoid doubling the tax.

Who killed the hundredth tiger?

The Hundredth tiger, which Dewan brought from Madras especially in his car, could not die of King’s bullet as the bullet passed through him but did not hit him. Now Dewan and all fear to lose their jobs if king comes to know that Tiger is still alive. So one of the hunters from King’s palace killed the tiger and presented dead tiger in front of the king. So actually hundredth tiger was killed by any of the king’s hunters and not by king.

How did the king react after killing the 100th tiger?

The king was delighted after killing the hundredth tiger. His happiness shows that somewhere in his contemplation there was a fear that he himself might become a victim of Tiger. But when he shot and tiger fell down, the king announced to celebrate his centenary victory on a large scale in the palace. In the eyes of palace’s servants the tiger was alive, but in the eyes of the king, he was dead and was his hundredth victim.

Why did the king who hunted original tigers buy a tiger made of wood from market?

Raja bought the wood tiger from market for his son’s third birthday that he wanted to gift. He wanted to give something special to him and searched a lot in the market. And the tiger made of wood was the one he liked the most.

How did a lifeless tiger kill the king?

The lifeless tiger was manufactured by some unskilled carpenter. Its surface was rough and tiny slivers of wood stood up like quills all over it. Unfortunately, one of those slivers pierced into right hand of the king. Though king pulled it out from his left hand and ignored the pain. Next day, however, little injury had infected the whole arm of the king. Three surgeons were called from Madras and king was operated upon but the operation could not save Maharaja’s life and this is how a wooden tiger took the life of the king.

Why did surgeons say that “Operation was successful” when they couldn’t save the king?

When Surgeons came out after the operation, their first reaction was not about King’s infection. By saying “operation was successful”, they meant to say that the words of that old astrologer have turned out to be true. The work that 99 tigers could not do till now was done by this 100th tiger. The little slivers that came out of that wood had put the king to sleep forever. Everybody across the king’s state knew about this prediction about king and the desperation he had for search of hundredth tiger for quite some time.

Do you think King made a mistake by not trusting the Astrologer? Justify your answer.

Society has always been divided into two parts regarding astrology. There is one a class that believes blindly, while the other calls the former fools. However, the king must have heeded the astrologer’s warning or prophecy and should not have ignored him or made fun of him. Even if we do not believe in any God or religion, we should not make fun of or criticize it. It will be of no value in our eyes but for others it is everything. Astrology is a pseudoscience that claims to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the movements and relative positions of celestial objects. Some have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science, and a method of divination. Though most cultural astrology systems share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many use methods that differ from those in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as “Indian astrology” and in modern times referred to as “Vedic astrology”) and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world’s cultural history.