The story is a remarkable mix of fantasy and folk. Translated from the original Tamil by Gowri Ramanarayan, the original author is R. Krishnamurthy, better known by his pen name, Kalki. Kalki was a journalist, poet and critic. His stories are known for their subtle satire.
The Tiger King revolves around the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, who otherwise has many titles to his credit, but is popularly known as ‘The Tiger King’.