When Tiger Was King - book review

Edited and Compiled by Ruskin Bond
Publisher: Rupa
Price: Rs.95



‘When The Tiger was King’, edited and compiled by Ruskin Bond, has an alluring cover page.

The orange backdrop accentuates the charcoal stripes and contours of the regal feline, while solemn eyes peer hauntingly at you.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book is not nearly as enchanting.The foreword is written with warmth, in which the author’s admiration for the fiery tiger is evident, and the ‘Tiger facts’ and ‘Tiger Talk’ sections are engrossing.

The first story in the collection, ‘When Grandfather Tickled A Tiger’, by Ruskin Bond, is simply delightful, peppered with flecks of delicious humour.

‘Gond Tiger Fable of Singbaba’, ‘The Tiger of Chao Cheng’; folk tales from India and China speak of the noble majesty and honour of the tiger.

‘The Tiger in the Tunnel’, again by Ruskin Bond, is a poignant, stirring story that returns to reverberate in your soul long after you finish reading it. ‘The Life of A Tiger’, by S Eardly Wilmot, is a true, nevertheless dreary tale that does not manage to hold your attention for long.

‘Man Eater’, ‘Man Eater of Botta Singaurum’, ‘Sandy Beresford’s Tigerhunt’, by Frank Buck with Edward Anthony, Henry Astbury Leveson and Charles A Kincaid, feel out of place, since they seem to glorify the pastime of capturing and killing tigers, which left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. A sort of reverence and awe is attached to the poaching, which is clearly not what this collection should be aiming at.

‘The Langra Tigress’, by Hugh Allen, speaks of the relationship between the forest, its inhabitants, and man. It would have been quite enjoyable if not for the fact that is stretches on and on seamlessly.

The icing on the not so very delectable cake, is ‘Where’s the Tiger?’ by Surendra Monanty and is narrated by the tiger himself, whose sardonic wit and wry observations will both touch and astonish you.

This anthology tries to put together stories about the splendidly feral feline whose numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. Some of the stories, like ‘When Grandfather Tickled A Tiger’ and ‘Where’s the Tiger?’ work beautifully, while some of the not so riveting tales make the book a monotonous, yawn-inducing read.

This collection disappointed me.

Pick up this book only if you are a die-hard Ruskin Bond fan. This collecting will raise your hopes, only to dash them to the ground and perhaps lift them again, until you are left bouncing like my favourite tiger Tigger, all the way through the hundred acre wood.

Malvika Parthasarthy
Cluny Convent School