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

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English

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

The Tiger King NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

The Tiger King Read and Find out

Question 1.
Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name?
Answer:
Jilani JungJung Bahadur, the King of Pratibandapuram, is known as 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 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’.

Question 2.
What did the royal infant grow up to be?
Answer:
The royal infant grew up to be the King of Pratibandapuram, who was obsessed with the idea of killing one-hundred tigers. He wanted to do so to disprove the prophecy which said that his death would come from the hundredth tiger. This made him kill all the tigers of Pratibandapuram. He even married to achieve this ambition. He came to be known as the Tiger King.

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

Question 3.
What did the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill?
Answer:
To get the required number of tigers to kill, the Maharaja asked his Dewan to find a suitable girl for him to marry. A suitable girl for matrimonial alliance would be one who would not only come from a royal family but also belong to a state with a large tiger population. As Pratibandapuram had no more tigers left, a province that belonged to his father-in-law would certainly provide him with an opportunity to kill more tigers and help him reach his aim of killing one-hundred tigers.

Question 4.
How did the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which was supposed to decide his fate?
Answer:
The Maharaja wanted to be extremely careful while dealing with the hundredth tiger which was supposed to be the reason for his death. On encountering the hundredth one, he took a careful aim at the tiger and shot at it. When it fell in a crumpled heap, he was overcome with joy and left the place hastily because he thought that he had successfully disproved the prophecy.

Question 5.
What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy was indisputably disproved?
Answer:
The astrologer dies before the King of Pratibandapuram gets an opportunity to kill one-hundred tigers. Disproving his prophecy seems to be the sole reason for the King’s existence. Except for killing one-hundred tigers, everything else takes a backseat for the King.

The prophecy cannot be indisputably disproved as the King was ultimately killed by a tiger, though neither by a real one nor by the hundredth one. Looking at the weak, old and almost lifeless tiger that was the hundredth one, no one would have thought that it would escape the king’s bullet by fainting at the shock of the bullet whizzing past. It was the “tiny little wooden tiger” from the toy shop that caused the death of the Tiger King.

The Tiger King 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:
The story, ‘The Tiger King’ is a supreme example of dramatic irony. The character acts in a way grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances or expects the opposite of what fate holds in store for him. Kalki has used a very dexterous use of dramatic irony in the story. After killing the first tiger, the King flaunts its dead body before the astrologer to show that he is more powerful than the tiger. However, the astrologer warns the King that he should be ‘careful with the hundredth tiger’.

The King chooses to prove the astrologer wrong once again and makes frantic efforts to kill hundred tigers. Thus, having shot at the old tiger, the Tiger King believes that he has killed the hundredth tiger. But the reader as well as the King’s officers soon come to know that the emaciated tiger does not get killed but only gets faint. The King feels happy about killing the tiger, but in reality, he is ignorant of his ironical fate. The prediction proves right and a mere splinter from a wooden tiger’s body causes his dramatic death. Quite ironically, the hundredth tiger kills the King instead and the astrologer’s prediction stands vindicated.

Question 2.
What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the wilfulness of human beings?
Answer:
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 the astrologer wrong, the Maharaja went on a killing spree, proving his dominance over the hapless animals.

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

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 were subservient sycophants. Most of them were scared of the 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 jobs or even loss of their lives.
The astrologer was afraid of predicting his death, till the Maharaja told him to ‘speak Vithout fear’. The Dewan, who should have advised the King not to kill the tigers, did not dare to go against his wishes and aided his marriage by finding a princess whose father’s kingdom possessed a large number of tigers.

When the Maharaja could not find the hundredth tiger, 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 hundredth 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 for selling something cheap to the King.

So, it is evident that the King’s minions were driven by fear rather than any feeling of sincerity towards their ruler. Today’s political order is no different. We know too well that many of the people are in power because of their influence and clout. Moreover, others indulge them for their own vested interests, rather than for the good of the country.

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 wildlife?
Answer:
There have been some instances of game-hunting in the present times. Even the affluent have been involved in instances that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife. Salman Khan – Black Buck poaching case; Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi—Antelope case.

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:
Man has been destroying life on the earth. Since time immemorial, great wars have taken a heavy toll on human life. Man has even deprived nature of its flora and fauna in the name of development. He has endlessly been cutting down trees and clearing forests to meet his needs for more land to construct home. It has severely affected the ecosystem.

Towards wildlife, in particular, man’s attitude has been most callous. He has hunted wild animals for food, fun and sport. As a result, several species of animals have become extinct, and many are on the verge of extinction. Therefore, we need to create a new system for ecology which takes care of people and all life upon earth. If man continues to exploit irrationally, life on earth will be a nightmare. Nature’s fury will be unabated. Man should learn to coexist with each other and all the other living beings/ things to maintain ecological balance.

The Tiger King Extra Questions and Answers

The Tiger King Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
When did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom? How was he able to avert the danger?
Answer:
Tiger King, to disprove the astrologer’s prediction, started to hunt and kill tigers. He also banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. Anyone who disobeyed him was punished and all his wealth and property was confiscated. A British high-ranking officer wished to hunt tigers. The Maharaja told that the officer could hunt any other

animal except the tiger. The British officer’s secretary wanted the Maharaja to allow the British officer to take a photograph of himself holding a gun and standing over a tiger’s , carcass. The Maharaja refused permission because he did not want anybody to kill a tiger. At this, the Maharaja stood in danger of losing his kingdom. Hence, he offered a bribe of 50 diamond rings worth three lakhs, to the wife of the British officer. By this act, the Maharaja was able to avert the danger.

Question 2.
What did the British officer’s secretary tell the Maharaja? Why did the Maharaja refuse permission?
Answer:
The British officer’s secretary told the Maharaja to allow him to shoot the tigers in his kingdom. But the Maharaja did not allow him because he thought that the number of tigers would decrease and he would not be able to complete the desired number.

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

Question 3.
Why, do you think, was the Maharaja in danger of losing his throne?
Answer:
A high-ranking British official came to the state. He desired to hunt tigers. The Maharaja did not give permission. The officer sent a word to get himself photographed holding a gun beside a tiger’s dead body. However, the Maharaja refused even that. As the Maharaja had prevented a British officer from fulfilling his desire, he was in danger of losing his kingdom.

Question 4.
What led the Maharaja to start out on a tiger hunt?
Answer:
When the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was born, an astrologer predicted that his death would be caused by a tiger. So the Maharaja started out on a tiger hunt.

Question 5.
What was the astrologer’s reaction, when the Maharaja told him that he had killed his first tiger?
Answer:
On being told that the Maharaja had killed his first tiger, the astrologer announced that he could kill ninety-nine tigers, but he must be very careful with the hundredth one.

Question 6.
How does the hundredth tiger take its final revenge upon the Tiger King?
Answer:
Few days after killing the hundredth tiger, the Maharaja gifted a wooden tiger to his son on his third birthday. A tiny splinter on the surface of the wooden tiger pierced the Maharaja’s right hand, leading to a sore, followed by the Maharaja’s death. Hence, the hundredth tiger took its final revenge upon the Tiger King.

Question 7.
Why did the Maharaja decide to get married?
Answer:
As the Maharaja occupied the throne at the age of twenty, he went on a tiger hunting campaign. He was excited to kill his first tiger, and within ten years, he killed seventy tigers. Soon, tigers became extinct in his own state. So he decided to get married to the . royal family of a state that had a large number of tigers.

Question 8.
Why was the Maharaja so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger?
Answer:
The Maharaja had killed ninety-nine tigers. If he could kill just one more tiger, he would have no fear left. Then he could give up tiger hunting altogether. Moreover, he had to be extremely careful with the last tiger.

Question 9.
What sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the high-ranking British officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal?
Answer:
For the high-ranking British officer, the Maharaja was prepared to organise any other hunt a boar hunt, a mouse hunt, a mosquito hunt. But a tiger hunt was impossible.The officer was a big show-off. He actually did not wish to hunt or kill the tiger himself, he just wanted to be photographed with a gun in his hand, standing over a dead tiger.

Question 10.
Why was it a celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram?
Answer:
It was a celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram because the ,Maharaja banned tiger hunting in the state. Except the Maharaja, no one was allowed to hunt tigers. It was proclaimed that if anyone was found hunting a tiger, all his property and wealth would be seized.

Question 11.
The manner of his (the Tiger King’s) death is a matter of extraordinary interest. Comment.
Answer:
The Maharaja had vowed to kill hundred tigers to ensure his longevity. As soon as he was born, astrologers had foretold that one day, the Tiger King would be killed by a tiger. Even after the Maharaja killed hundred tigers, he was killed by a tiger. It is quite ironical because eventually, he was killed by a tiger, though a wooden one.

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

Question 12.
How did the Tiger King’s Dewan prove to be resourceful?
Answer:
After the Tiger King had killed ninety-nine tigers, no more tigers were left. After some time, there were indications of the presence of a tiger in the forest of a village. The King went there but did not find the tiger. Then he asked the Chief Minister to find the tiger or he would remove him from his job. The Dewan had hidden in his house an old tiger which had been brought from the People’s Park in Madras. He took that hundredth tiger to the forest to be killed by the King.

Question 13.
How did the ten-day-old baby (the future Tiger King) react to the prediction about his future made by the astrologer?
Answer:
On hearing the prediction, the ten-day-old prince spoke in his squeaky voice that ‘everyone who is born has to die one day’. He was told that he would be killed by a tiger. To this, he responded, ‘Let Tigers Beware’.

Question 14.
What kind of life was enjoyed by crown prince Jung Bahadur, till he reached the age of twenty?
Answer:
The royal infant grew upto be the King of Pratibandapuram, who was obsessed with the idea of killing one-hundred tigers. He wanted to do so to disprove the prophecy which said that his death would come from the hundredth tiger. This made him kill all the tigers of Pratibandapuram. He even married to realise this ambition. He came to be known as the Tiger King.

Question 15.
‘From that day onwards, it was celebration time for all tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram’. Bring out the irony in this statement.
Answer:
It was a celebration as killing tigers was banned by the state. It is ironical because the state head, the Maharaja had full right to kill tigers.

Question 16.
Why was the Maharaja once in danger of losing his kingdom?
Answer:
The Maharaja was on the verge of losing his throne when he refused the British officer to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. He not only refused to permit him to do so but did not allow him to be photographed standing over a dead tiger. However, he compromised by presenting 50 diamond rings to his wife costing him three lakhs of rupees.

Question 17.
How did Maharaja deal with a high-ranking British Officer who wanted to shoot a tiger?
Answer:
The Maharaja was firm in his resolve of not to give him permission. He encouraged him to hunt a boar, mouse or even a mosquito; because of this, there was a risk of losing his kingdom. So he agreed to gift a diamond ring but ended up giving some fifty diamond rings worth three lakh of rupees to retain his kingdom.

Question 18.
Why did the Maharaja have to pay a bill of three lakh rupees to the British jewellers? [
Answer:
The Maharaja refused to grant permission to the British Officer to hunt tigers in his kingdom of Pratibandapuram and also refused to take a picture with a dead tiger. Instead, he thought of pacifying his wife, the duraisani with a diamond ring. Orders were placed with a famous British company of jewellers in Calcutta to send samples of rings of different designs. They sent fifty rings which were all taken by her and the Maharaja had to pay three lakhs in turn.

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

Question 19.
Why did the Maharaja decide to get married?
Answer:
The Maharaja decided to get married to fulfil his aim of killing one-hundred tigers. He had killed only seventy tigers and no tiger was left in the forest of Pratibandapuram. He, therefore, wanted to marry a princess from a kingdom with many tigers.

Question 20.
When did the Maharaja decide to double the land tax for a village?
Answer:
When the Tiger King with just one tiger to reach his target of one-hundred, someone reported about a tiger near the village. The Maharaja was desperate to kill, but no one could find the tiger, so he became furious and doubled the land tax.

Question 21.
How did the hundredth tiger reach the forest?
Answer:
The King’s Dewan had a tiger hidden in his house, which had been brought from the
People’s Park in Madras. At midnight, when the entire town was sleeping, the Dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger into their car and took him to the forest.

Question 22.
What happened to the hundredth tiger?
Answer:
On the day of hunt, the hundredth tiger wandered in Maharaja’s presence and stood in humble supplication. The Maharaja took an aim at him and the tiger fell in a crumpled heap. But when the hunters looked at the tiger, they realised that he was not dead as the bullet missed the mark rather, it had fainted.

Question 23.
Did the prophecy of the astrologer come true at the end of the story?
Answer:
Yes, the prophecy did prove true as his death came out of the hundredth tiger, i.e., the wooden tiger. He thought that he had killed the hundredth tiger, but actually, he missed its mark and was killed by one of the ministers. The destiny played its role as the hundredth tiger was the wooden tiger

Question 24.
Which problem did the Maharaja face when he had killed seventy tigers? How did he solve it?
Answer:
The Maharaja had to kill one-hundred tigers on the whole. After killing seventy of the one-in Pratibandapuram, no more tigers were left in the forest there. But he had to kill thirty more, so he decided to get married to a princess of a state with large tiger population.

The Tiger King Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
Who was the Tiger King? What is the story associated with the birth of the Tiger King?
Answer:
The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was called the Tiger King. At his birth, astrologers predicted that one day, he would actually have tp die. They further said that he would grow up to become a great warrior, a great hero, a great champion, but would die one day. Surprisingly, a miracle took place. The ten-day-old prince spoke in his squeaky voice that “everyone who is born has to die one day. So it would make sense if they could ‘ tell the manner of the death”. Everyone present there was tongue-tied.

A baby of ten days not only opened its lips but even asked an intelligent question. The chief astrologer then said that since the prince was born in the hour of bull, and the bull and the tiger are enemies, the death of the prince would result from a tiger. The royal infant was not afraid to hear these words. He grumbled asking the tigers to beware.

Question 2.
Giving a bribe is an evil practice. How did the Tiger King bribe the British officer to save his kingdom? How do you view this act of his?
Answer:Tiger King wanted to disprove the astrologer’s prediction and therefore, started to hunt and kill tigers. Anyone who disobeyed him would be punished and all his wealth and property would be confiscated. In order to have enough tigers to hunt, he had banned hunting tigers in his kingdom. A high-ranking British official came to the state. He desired to hunt tigers. The British officer was also not allowed to hunt. The officer sent a word to get himself photographed holding a gun beside the tiger’s dead body.

However, the Maharaja refused even that. As the Maharaja had prevented a British officer from fulfilling his desire, he was in danger of losing his kingdom. Hence, he offered a bribe of 50 diamond rings, worth three lakhs to the wife of the British officer. By this act, the Maharaja was able to avert the danger.

In my view, this reveals the corrupt attitude of both the King and the British official. It also shows how blinded the King was in his ambition (to prove the astrologer wrong) that he wasted the people’s money to appease his ego. He was ready to relinquish people’s hard-earned money to ensure that his longevity is ensured by proving the astrologer wrong.

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

Question 3.
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’ one-hundred tigers, yet was himself ‘killed’ by a tiger. How did the superstitious belief prevail?
Answer:
A few days after the Maharaja killed the hundredth tiger, it was the third birthday of his son. The Maharaja desired to give him some special gift on this occasion. He purchased a wooden tiger from a toy shop and gifted it to his son.

That day, the Maharaja and his son were playing with the wooden tiger. The surface of the toy was rough, since it had been carved by an unskilled carpenter. A tiny sliver pierced into the Maharaja’s right hand. He pulled it out. But the next day, the infection spread even in the Maharaja’s right arm. Within four days, it developed into a pus forming sore, spreading all over the arm. Three famous surgeons were called from Chennai. They performed the operation. Even though the operation was successful, the Maharaja passed away. Thus, the hundredth tiger took its revenge on the King.

This shows that the prophecy did eventually prevail. The hundredth tiger was not killed by the King. However, it died. But with regard to the King, the hundredth tiger, appeared in the form of the inanimate tiger, that caused the death of the King.

Question 4.
The Tiger King’s quest for tigers was full of hurdles and challenges. Justify the statement.
Answer:
Though the Tiger King was reputed to have fought tigers with bare hands, he had to kill hundred tigers for the sake of his life. His refusing permission to hunt in Pratibandapuram to Durai, or even being photographed with a dead tiger, costed him fifty diamond rings of three lakhs worth.

He had to marry a princess with at least 30 tigers in her father’s kingdom, to complete his quota for killing a hundred tigers. After the 99th tiger, searching for the hundredth proved to be difficult, till Dewan managed an old one from the People’s Park in Madras. Ironically, the Maharaja could not kill it, but his hunters did from a one-foot distance. What a wastage of time, manpower, money and energy, when the Maharaja finally died because of an unskilled wooden tiger’s sliver in his finger.

Question 5.
How did Tiger King succeed in killing hundred tigers?
Answer:
The Tiger King banned the hunting of tiger in the kingdom of Pratibandapuram. When he came of age, he wreaked havoc on the tiger population in an attempt to hunt a hundred tigers as soon as it was possible. Seventy tigers were killed within ten years. Then he got married in the kingdom where tigers were to be found. At his every visit to his in-laws, he used to kill them.

Thus, ninety-nine were killed. But the hundredth one was nowhere to be found. He became infuriated and doubled the land tax. Then Dewan Saheb arranged the hundredth tiger from People’s Park in Madras. It was brought in a van by Dewan. He left it in the forest. The King was informed about its presence. He took an aim and shot it. But to everyone’s surprise, the bullet whizzed past his ear and was only killed by one of the ministers of the King.

error: Content is protected !!