About The Author
Ramaswamy Aiyer Krishanmurthi (9 Sept. 1899-5 Dec. 1954) was a Tamil writer. His pen name was Kalki. He was also a freedom fighter, journalist, poet, critic and social activist. He was born in Purthamangalam in Tanjore district in Tamil Nadu. He got the Sahitya Academy Award for his Novel ‘Alai Osai’ in 1948.
Summary
This story is about the king of Pratibandapuram who was also known as the ‘Tiger King’ and was famous for his indomitable courage. The Tiger King was rumoured to have spoken when he was ten days old. His miraculous first words proved his intelligence, curiosity and bravery to the astrologers. The astrologers predicted that the young prince would grow to become the mightiest of all, but he would be killed by a tiger. Since it was a period of British dominance, the prince was groomed and the British impact was quite visible. He drank the milk of an English cow, was brought up by an English nanny, tutored in English by an Englishman, saw nothing but English films. He was crowned king at the age of twenty.
The king of Pratibandapuram was arrogant but brave. As the stories of the predictions resurfaced he killed the first tiger to show his superiority against destiny. Then he called the state astrologer. The astrologer reaffirmed his prediction saying that ninety nine tigers would cause no harm but it was the hundredth tiger that he needs to escape from. This made the king to make a vow to kill at least hundred tigers to show that he was determined to win the challenge against the fate. Maharaja’s sole aim of life was now to hunt tigers. This fixation led him to kill all the tigers of the tiger rich forests of Pratibandapuram. He even pronounced that anybody who dared even to think evil of any of the tiger will have to surrender all wealth and property as he wanted the right to kill all the tigers for himself. To achieve his target to kill hundred tigers he became nonchalant to his duties of a king. During the course of his mission, he faced many life threatening situations. Sometimes he even fought the beast without any weapons but each time he was successful.
The high ranking British officer who wanted to go for tiger hunting visited Pratibandapuram. He was fond of clicking photographs of tigers, which he killed. The Maharaja did not allow him as he thought granting permission once would lead to other British officers also making similar requests. As the king refused the permission to the British officer, his kingdom came under the threat. So he discussed with his dewan and thought of sending fifty sample rings to the British officer’s wife. They thought that his wife would choose one ring, but the greedy wife took all the fifty rings. Those rings cost the king three lakh rupees, but the kingdom was saved. After this incident the tiger hunting expedition of the king continued. Within a decade he managed to kill seventy tigers. The population of the tigers drastically began to come down. The king told his dewan to find a princess of a royal family suitable for his marriage and their kingdom should have a large number of tiger population. After his marriage the king killed five to six tigers each time he visited the kingdom. This way he could reach the number up to ninety nine tigers. These ninety nine tiger skins ornated the reception hall of Pratibandapuram palace. Now, only one tiger was left to be killed. The Maharaja became even more uneasy and desired to kill that single tiger and get over his fears. He could then give up tiger hunting. However, the hundredth tiger could not be found. The king became anxious. One day, he got the news that sheep had started disappearing from the hill side village, his hopes rose. He was extremely pleased that he announced a three year exemption from all taxes for the village and set out to find the tiger. But it was in vain.
The king got so angry that many officers had to lose their job and in his frenzy he ordered to double up the tax. The dewan was very worried, so in order to find a solution he got an old tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and kept it hidden in his house. When Maharaja went for tiger hunting the dewan along with his wife took the tiger and dragged him out of the car. The old tiger started wandering in the forest. The king spotted and shot the tiger. The exhilarated king took the procession of the dead tiger through the town. After the king left, the other hunters realised that the tiger only fainted due to shock of the bullet. They thought if they will tell Maharaja they might lose their jobs. Therefore, they decided not to tell him the truth. One of the hunters shot the tiger dead. Then they took out the procession and buried the tiger. A tomb was erected over it. After a few days, Maharaja’s son’s third birthday was celebrated.
He looked out for a gift. He saw a wooden tiger. That toy was only for two anas but the shopkeeper said it was a rare example of the craftsmanship and sold it to the king for three hundred rupees. He played with that wooden tiger along with his son. It was carved by an unskilled carpenter. The surface of the toy tiger was rough with quills all over it. One of these quills pierced the king’s hand. The king took it out and kept on playing with the prince. Next day, his right hand got infected which spread all over the arm, three renowned doctors from Madras could not save him. Therefore, the hundredth tiger took its final revenge. It killed the Tiger King.
