The Tiger King is one of the most told and retold fable and stories in the country for ages, and this story has been one of the favorites for young adults due to the high moral-based lessons that it offers. The story has been written by one of the most renowned authors of Indian origin Ramaswamy Aiyer Krishnamurthy who usually wrote with his pen name “Kalki.”
He was born on 9th September 1899, and he was a Tamil language writer, Journalist, Poet, and a respected critic as well in the course of his work life. He has written about 120 short stories in his writing career, along with novelettes, poems, and film and music reviews. His work has been appreciated for centuries after centuries, and till today the story has been a tale of narration.
The story is set in the background of a monarchy and myths, and the story is an enchanting experience that not only thrills the reader but also is a great example of dramatic irony in itself of how life often moves in circles.
The irony is placed in the birth of the young prince, whose destiny was destined by a prophecy that also determined the purpose of his life. The King as an adult, spent his whole trying to reverse the prophecy to his favor but, in the end, was met by his fate.
The king, who was known for his valor and bravery, saw his ultimate demise through such petty means that no one could have guessed. The story in itself is a satire of the people and powerful kings who believed that they were invincible and nothing could destroy them.
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Summary of The Tiger King
The story begins in the mythical town of Pratibandampuram, where a young prince named Jung Jung Bahadur is born. On the birth of their new prince, the town is immersed in happiness and joy, and on occasion, the little boy is brought to the chief astrologer, who makes a shocking prediction.
He predicts that since the boy is born in the hour of bull, which directs towards his enemy, which is a tiger, he tells that the death of the child is caused due to a tiger, that too, the 100th tiger. The boy grows up to be a valiant warrior and a learned prince and assumes the position of king at the age of twenty.
As soon as he becomes the king, in order to predict himself from the consequences of the prophecy, he decides to go on a killing spree of all the tigers in the town. In this frenzy, he one by one kills all the tigers in the state, which leaves no tiger left for him to hunt. In the madness to safeguard himself from the hundredth tiger, he even decides to marry someone from a royal family which has a high population of tigers.
He continues to kill more and more tigers, satisfying himself and, at the same time, neglecting his responsibilities that he should have been aware of as a king. After killing the ninety-ninth tiger, the king desperately started looking for his last prey, and since he had almost exhausted every possible tiger, the search went on even longer.
Out of frustration and fear of the wrath of their king, his ministers brought an old tiger and decided to plant a tiger themselves in the forest for the king to kill. The following day when the king is on his hunt, they spot the old tiger that was planted by the ministers. The king aims at the tiger and shoots it. The tiger falls dead and the king celebrates that he is successful in proving the prophecy wrong and won over death itself.
But upon investigating the tiger, the ministers find out that the bullet never hit the tiger. Instead, the poor tiger died out of a heart attack that was caused due to the sound of the bullet. Since they knew the erratic behavior of their king and feared him immensely, they decided to keep this information to themselves and away from the king.
The king goes on to celebrate his victory and, at the same time, celebrate the third birthday of his son. He decides to shop for a perfect gift for his son and finds a wooden tiger for his son. The wooden tiger was made cheaply and had splinters and nails protruding out of it, and instead of telling the king about the condition of the tiger, he demands a higher price for it to pretend it’s high quality.
One of the spilters, later on, pierces through the king’s right hand, which later on results in an infection that ultimately kills the king. Hence, the 100th tiger ends up becoming the reason for his demise.
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Why was the king called The Tiger King?
As we have seen in the story, the story and fate of the king are wholly dependent on the fact whether he is successful in killing the 100th tiger or not. And most importantly, the king spent his whole life dedicated to hunting tigers and somewhere that became a part of his identity.
He even married someone from a state which had a tiger population, and most importantly, people feared his wrath since they knew the madness that had covered him. His madness to prove the prophecy wrong led him to his own downfall.
It is as ironic as it can get that his death was not destined for a real tiger in flesh and bones but a tiger made out of wood. Hence, the tiger that he hunted to evade his fate and destiny ended up becoming the reason for his death, even though by very unrealistic means. For the very same reasons, the king was known as the Tiger King.
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