THE TIGER KING

- Kalki
This story is about the Tiger King, the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, who was known for his indomitable courage.
I
A prophesy and a great miracle
The crown prince of the kingdom of Pratibandapuram was rumored to have miraculously spoken his first words when
he was just ten days old. His words proved his intelligence, inquisitiveness and bravery to the astrologers.
The astrologers prophesized that though the young prince will grow up to be the mightiest of kings, a tiger will cause
his death.
II
The education and coronation of Jung Jung Bahadur
British dominance and its effect on the royalty of India had a huge impact on the kind of education given to princes
across the country. Even the prince of Pratibandapuram 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 killing of the first tiger and acceptance of the challenge
The prince grew up to become arrogant but brave Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. As the stories of his foretold but
long forgotten end resurfaced, he searched and killed his first tiger to show his superiority and rebellion against fate.
Considering this to be his victory over his destined future, he called upon the state astrologer. The latter informed him
that he had no life threat from the first ninety-nine of his hunted tigers but it was the hundredth one that he needed to
protect himself from. Nevertheless, the Maharaja decided to kill at least hundred tigers as a challenge against this
foretold destiny.
III
Maharajas obsession with tigers
The Maharajas sole aim of life became the hunt of tigers. This obsession led him to restrict to himself the right to kill
all the tigers in the tiger-rich forests of Pratibandapuram. He even issued a proclamation that anybody who dared
even to think evil of any of the tigers in the state would be liable to confiscation of wealth and property. To achieve the
aim of killing hundred tigers, he neglected all his duties as a king.
A gift of fifty rings to duraisani

In keeping with this vow, the Maharaja out rightly denied even a British official, durai, who desired to hunt down a
tiger. The durais sole aim was to get his photograph clicked with a tiger 's corpse and a gun over his
shoulders. However, fearing the British wrath and to safeguard his kingdom, he readily sent fifty diamond rings to the
British official 's wife. But since she kept all the fifty rings instead of one as intended, he had to bear an expense of
three lakh rupees.
IV
Tigers extinct in Pratibandapuram
Ten years saw the corpses of seventy tigers in the forests of Pratibandapuram. Gradually, the forests became bereft
of tigers.
The maharaja decided to get married
So, he married a princess of the state that had the maximum number of tigers. Through this alliance, he acquired
access to his father-in-laws forests. Soon his score of tiger killing rose to ninety-nine but stagnated thereafter, as the
tigers became extinct there too.
V
The search for the hundredth tiger & Maharajas fury
Though all the forests were searched exhaustively, the hundredth tiger could not be found. This wait made the
maharaja gloomy, haughty and impatient. Soon a village reported frequent incidences of sheep disappearance. It was
supposed that a wild tiger was the reason. The Maharaja was delighted with the news and exempted the village from
all taxes for three years.
Soon an expedition was set out to kill this tiger. However, the tiger could not be found. In his rage, Maharaja fired
many of his officials from their jobs and doubled the land tax of the villagers. When the dewan tried to reason it out
with the Maharaja, he was asked to resign.
Dewans plan - the hundredth tiger!
Scared of losing his job, the dewan devised a plan. He got a tiger brought from Madras and, secretly yet intelligently,
left it in the forest where the Maharajas expedition was going on.
On spotting this tiger, the Maharaja shot directly at the pale and fragile tiger, which fell in a crumpled heap.
Maharajas misconception
Maharaja, elated with his victory, left for his state. However, as the hunters took a closer look at the tiger, they found
that the tiger had collapsed merely at the sound of the bullet. Distressed with the thought of losing their jobs, the
hunters killed the tiger themselves and, as ordered by the Maharaja, took the dead tiger in a grand procession
through the town and buried it. A tomb was a

The Enemy
Summary and Analysis:
During the World War an American prisoner of war is washed ashore in a dying state and is
found at the doorstep of a Japanese doctor. The whole fiction very poignantly deals with the
doctors moral perplexity as regards making a choice between saving the dying man as a doctor
and handing him over to the Army as a patriot. The story involves a doctors moral and ethical
duties at professional level and patriotic devotion at national level. Moreover he cant forget his
familial duties as well. All these aspects make the story multidimensional and a classic piece of
war literature.
Dr. Sadao Hoki is not only a good surgeon but also an accomplished scientist. He is perfecting a
discovery that will render wounds entirely clean. Because of this and because the General might
need an operation for a condition for which he is being treated medically at the moment, Sadao
is kept in Japan instead of sending him abroad along with the troops. Apart from enjoying the
status of being the best Japanese surgeon, Sadao is also an extraordinarily good individual with
sterling qualities. His efforts to respond to the moral duties as a human being as well as the
ethical call of his profession give him nearly a godly stature. Moreover his sense of responsibility
as a doctor coupled with human fellow feeling is surely above all racist considerations.
But at the same time, we must not forget that Sadaos father inculcated in him great values of
patriotic devotion and national loyalty when the latter was very young. Sadao has grown up with
such great values that it is now quite impossible for him not to respond to the call of his loyalty
to the nation. But he cant respond to the calls of both his professional ethics and the national
loyalty simultaneously. This leads Sadao to undergo a very traumatic period right from the time
he starts nurturing the wounded American soldier till he finally packs him off at the grave risk to
his own life and his family.
Interestingly enough, Hana, Sadaos wife, supports Sadao through and through. The question
arises why she should have helped and supported her husband while neither has she any moral
compulsions nor any ethical obligations to fulfill on one hand and on the other she is very much
aware of her duties as a citizen of Japan. But we should remember here that Hana makes
Sadao a fine wife and they are a happy couple on many counts. She solemnly considers it her
sacred duty to help and support her beloved husband who has been going through an
inexplicable mental trauma. On the other hand this is not unknown to Sadao that his wife has
been going through a lot of trouble for his sake. This pains him so much that he decides to get
rid of the white man as early as possible.
It is really strange that people suffer to a phenomenal degree because of their unflagging
conscience. Sadao is no exception in this regard. Despite all moral dilemma, he listens to his
heart every time and takes the right decision and his wife Hana very gently follows him. As they
shelter the white man in their house despite knowing the identity of the man being one of the
Prisoners of War and then save the man by means of a successful surgery, all their servants
first go against them, criticize them openly and then finally leave the household causing the
couple inordinate difficulties. But both Sadao and Hana stoically and undauntedly bear all this
and come out victorious in helping their enemy out in the face of stiff opposition from the

servants and their own pangs of conscience.

The Last Lesson

Summary
Franz didnt want to go to school that day as his French teacher Mr Hamel was supposed to take the test for
Participles and Franz was not prepared for it even he did not know the first word of participles. Franz was
afraid of M Hamels ruler and being scolded. Anyhow he decided to go to school. On the way he passed
through the Town Hall and he noticed lots of people were gathered around notice board. Franz didnt bother
to stop and see the notice as he was well aware that this board had always been serving the bad news about
the war. Blacksmith told him no need to hurry for school but Franz thought he was making fun of him.
On Reaching School he was surprised to see the changed environment, there was no noise as usual, no
chanting sound of lesson by students, it seemed to be a Sunday morning. All students were already in their
class room. M Hamel was walking with his iron ruler under his arm. Franz was frightened to enter in class as
he thought that he would be scolded badly as he was very late but to his surprise, M Hamel did not say
anything to him, rather he said to him very politely Go to your place quickly little Franz, were beginning
without you. After sitting on his seat Franz noticed that teacher was wearing his beautiful green coat, frilled
shirt with a little black silk cap having embroidery on it, this type of dress usually he wore on function or
prize ceremonies. Franz noticed that the other villager including old Hauser, former Mayor and former post
master were also present in class they were in the last seats. He could understand until finally M Hamel
announced the notice which was served from Berlin that now onwards no French would be taught in schools
of Alsace and Lorraine, only German would be taught in the schools of these two French cities and he
requested students to be attentive for their last French lesson. Franz now realized that what was there on
notice board in Town Hall.
These words fell on Franz like a thunder clap. He couldnt believe it would be his last lesson today. He didnt
learn, never paid attention to his French lesson, he hardly knew how to write it. He was repenting not to learn
it on time, instead of studying he would go for other pleasant activities, his perspective about his books
changed immediately, the books which used to seem him like burden now those books seem to him like an
old friends which he could give up. Even his thoughts for his teacher M. Hamel changed thinking as he
would never see him again as it was his last day, he forgot about this cranky nature and his cruel ruler. Now
he realized that the teacher had wore this dress in honor of his last lesson. He also understood why older
people were presented in class as they were repenting why they never worry to go to school and they were
there to show their respect to their teacher, who served them for forty years.
When Franzs name was called to recite the lesson, he made mistake and could even speak few words just
opposite to his thinking teacher did not scold him rather he preached him that one should not waste his
precious time just by live in impression that there is plenty of time and postponing the important things, how
would they feel when someone will taunt on them that they were not able to speak or write the French
despite of being Frenchmen. Teacher did not put all blame on him but he also blamed the parents who never
bothered to send their children to school to study instead they put their children to work on farms and mill to
earn extra money. Even he blamed himself that he often would send his pupils to water his plants instead of
study at school and he would declare a holiday whenever he wanted to go to fishing.

Teacher further said about the French language that it was the most beautiful, clearest and most logical
language of the world. People should stick with their language it may be proven to the key to their prison in
case they are enslaved by some other country. A magic had happened that day in class the students
understood everything very clearly, because they were more attentive and teacher was more patient and
polite on that day.
Finally with very heavy heart, M Hamel stood up he was very sad, he walked to the black board, took a chalk
and wrote on it Vive La France which means Long Live France .

Lost spring
This story narrates about the children of the bangle makers of Firozabad. The essay
does so through the lives of two children, Saheb-e-Alam and Mukesh whose spring
or childhood is lost in misery and poverty. Saheb is the son of two parents who
migrated from Bangladesh. They came to Delhi in 1971 as their house was swept
away by repeated storms. Then they began to live in Seemapuri, a slum of Delhi.
Saheb like many other children of the slum was a rag picker. They searched the rags
and garbage and tried to find out coins. Sometimes they found one rupee coins and
sometimes even ten rupee coins. Saheb did not attend any school as there was no
school nearby. He was too poor to wear chappals. Saheb liked the game of tennis.
Someone gave him a pair of tennis shoes. But he would never get the chance to
play the game himself. At last, Saheb got employed in a tea stall. He was not happy
as he had lost his freedom. But he had no choice in the matter.
The life of Mukesh at Firozabad was no better. Mukesh lived with his elder brother
who was a bangle maker. He wanted to be a driver and a motor-mechanic, not at all
eager to continue bangle making. But the people thought that it was their karam or
the result of their karma in the previous birth that they were born into the caste of
bangle-makers. So they were destined to make bangles and they could not do
anything else. Thousands of children are engaged in bangle making and many of
them lost their eyesight before becoming adults. They did not know that it was
illegal for children to work in that hazardous condition in the glass factories. The
story is the same in every family. Mukesh took the writer to his house where the
writer came to know that his grandfather had become blind working in the factory.
Similarly in another family, the author came to know how the husband was happy
that he had been able to make a house for his own family to live in but the wife
complained that she did not get a full meal in her whole life.
Hundreds of years of slavery had killed the initiative of people to think of a better
life. They carried on their miserable life as they did not have the courage to rebel
against tradition. They did not have money enough to start their own new kind of
enterprise. If someone dared to start a new line, there were police, middle-men,
sahukars and politicians to persecute them. Police, middle-men and others would
not allow them to take any other vocation. Justice after all is the right of the rich and
the powerful, not of the helpless like Mukesh. The condition of the life of Saheb or
Mukesh was far from desirable. It should not be allowed to continue. But some
people must bell the cat. The writer was happy when he came to know that some

young men like Mukesh was ready to take the plunge, rebel against tradition and
start a new life.
Question 1:
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 tigers of Pratibandapuram. He even
married for the sake of this ambition. He came to be known as the Tiger King.
Question 1:
What will 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 reach his aim of killing one hundred tigers.
Question 1:
How will 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 it. When it fell in a crumpled heap, he was overcome with joy and left the place
hastily.