1. Why did the Maharaja kill tigers?
The astrologers predicted that little Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur would grow up to become a valiant warrior but one day the Tiger King would actually have to die. The chief astrologer said that the Maharaja was born in the hour of the bull. The bull and the tiger are enemies, therefore, his death would come from the tiger. On hearing this the Maharaja went on killing several tigers and justified this act as self-defense.
2. Why was the Maharaja in danger of losing his throne?
When a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram, he expressed his desire to hunt tigers there. He was fond of hunting. He was the founder of being photographed with the tigers that he killed. However, the Maharaja did not allow him to hunt tigers in his kingdom because he wanted to kill them himself. Even when the officer proposed that the Maharaja could kill the tigers himself and he would just get photographed holding the gun and standing over the tiger’s carcass, the Maharaja refused. He prevented a British officer from fulfilling his wish and this cost him diamond rings worth three lakh rupees that he had to gift to the British officer’s good lady to maintain healthy relations.
3. Why did the Tiger King decide to get married?
Within ten years of hunting, the Tiger King had managed to kill seventy tigers. The tiger population had become extinct in his province. So, he decided to marry a girl from a royal family of a state with a large tiger population. In this manner, he could kill five or six tigers each time he visited his father-in-law.
4. What was the Maharaja’s ambition?
The Maharaja’s ambition was to kill a hundred tigers. He decided to attend all other matters only after killing a hundred tigers as the astrologer warned him that he might kill ninety-nine tigers but he must be careful with the hundredth one.
5. How was the hundredth tiger found?
The dewan got a tiger from the People’s park in Madras and kept it hidden in his house. When he realized that if the Maharaja did not find the hundredth tiger soon then the results could be catastrophic. So, at midnight, the dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger to the car, shoved it into the seat and drove the car straight to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting.
6. Why did the hunters not tell the Maharaja that he had failed in killing the hundredth tiger?
The hundredth tiger was found with great difficulty and the Maharaja was thrilled at the fact that he had finally managed to accomplish his mission of killing a hundred tigers. When the hunters realized that the tiger was not dead, they feared that telling the Maharaja about it might anger him and they might end up losing their jobs. So, they shot the tiger on the King’s behalf.
Solved Long Question and Answer for “The Tiger King”
1. Bring out the irony at the end of the poem.
The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was identified for his courage and fearlessness. Soon after he was born, the astrologers had predicted that the child will grow up to become the warrior of warriors, the hero of heroes, champion of champions but one day he would actually have to die. They also predicted that he would be killed by a tiger. On hearing this, the Tiger King started hunting tigers in Pratibandapuram. Within ten years of hunting, he had killed seventy tigers. He even decided to marry a girl from a royal family of a state with a large tiger population to kill more tigers. However, after successfully killing ninety-nine tigers, the Maharaja couldn’t manage to kill the last one. The bullet missed the target and the tiger fainted from the shock of the bullet whizzing past. But the Maharaja didn’t come to know that he had failed in killing the hundredth tiger.
On his son’s third birthday, the Maharaja gifted him a wooden tiger. Its surface was rough as it was carved by an unskilled carpenter. One of the tiny slivers of wood that stood up like quills pierced the Maharaja’s right hand. The next day, inflection flared in his right hand and in four days, spread all over the arm. Three famous surgeons could not save him. This is how the prophecy turned to be true. The Tiger King was killed by the hundredth tiger.
Some online learning platforms provide certifications, while others are designed to simply grow your skills in your personal and professional life. Including Masterclass and Coursera, here are our recommendations for the best online learning platforms you can sign up for today.
The 7 Best Online Learning Platforms of 2022
- Best Overall: Coursera
- Best for Niche Topics: Udemy
- Best for Creative Fields: Skillshare
- Best for Celebrity Lessons: MasterClass
- Best for STEM: EdX
- Best for Career Building: Udacity
- Best for Data Learning: Pluralsight