Summary of English Vistas The Tiger King Class 12
Summary of “The Tiger King” by Kalki
- “The Tiger King” is a satirical short story by Kalki Krishnamurthy that ridicules the arrogance of power and the absurdity of superstitions. The story revolves around His Highness Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur, the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, who is nicknamed The Tiger King.
- At his birth, astrologers predict that the prince will become a mighty warrior king but will die because of a tiger. The child, growing up to be brave and strong, refuses to accept this fate. After becoming king at the age of 20, he sets out to kill 100 tigers to defeat fate and prove the astrologers wrong.
- Driven by this mission, he begins a massive tiger hunt across his kingdom. When tigers become scarce in his state, he marries a princess from another kingdom with a large tiger population to continue his killings. After killing 99 tigers, he struggles to find the 100th. Eventually, a tiger is brought in by his officers, but it is old and weak. The king shoots at it, but misses. However, to please the king, the courtiers secretly kill the tiger and declare it his 100th kill.
- Ironically, the king meets his end not by a tiger, but by a wooden toy tiger, gifted to his son. A hidden splinter pricks his hand, causes an infection, and leads to his death, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Summary of English Vistas The Tiger King Class 12
