This page features a video of the poem “Tiger”, prescribed under the Karnataka State Syllabus for 9th Standard English First Language. Along with its summary in three languages and transliterated songs. It serves as a valuable learning resource for students and parents, with each song accompanied by its respective lyrics for easy sing-along. The synchronized lyrics help learners follow and recite the song as it progresses, making memorization and learning by heart easier, more effective, and enjoyable.
Lyrics
English
The tiger isn’t burning bright
Either in shadow or in sun,
The tiger family is thinking
Two by two and one by one.
The tiger isn’t burning bright
In the forests of the night
Or in the wilderness of day,
We need to understand his plight.
The father Sheru’s missing now.
Sheru has been shot and skinned,
Poachers ground his bones to powder
For some Chinese medicine.
Bones would bring them power, they thought,
Put life into some sickly man.
Their souls were sick. Killing tigers
Is something we won’t understand?
His skin is hanging on a wall;
His bones are packed in plastic white
And shipped out. A gecko on the wall
Is hunting insects on his hide.
Once jungles trembled at his roar;
Tree tops flew up - birds disappeared!
Monkeys screamed (what an uproar!),
Now geckoes nibble on his ear!
Lord God had stamped upon his skin
In equal stripes both night and dawn.
His black-and gold won’t shimmer now.
Boar-hunter, forest King-he’s gone.
Either in shadow or in sun,
The tiger family is thinking
Two by two and one by one.
The tiger isn’t burning bright
In the forests of the night
Or in the wilderness of day,
We need to understand his plight.
The father Sheru’s missing now.
Sheru has been shot and skinned,
Poachers ground his bones to powder
For some Chinese medicine.
Bones would bring them power, they thought,
Put life into some sickly man.
Their souls were sick. Killing tigers
Is something we won’t understand?
His skin is hanging on a wall;
His bones are packed in plastic white
And shipped out. A gecko on the wall
Is hunting insects on his hide.
Once jungles trembled at his roar;
Tree tops flew up - birds disappeared!
Monkeys screamed (what an uproar!),
Now geckoes nibble on his ear!
Lord God had stamped upon his skin
In equal stripes both night and dawn.
His black-and gold won’t shimmer now.
Boar-hunter, forest King-he’s gone.
Summary
The poem presents the tragic condition of a tiger named Sheru after being killed by poachers. His skin has been displayed on a wall, while his bones have been ground into powder and sent away for use in medicine. The tiger that once made the jungle tremble with its roar has now become a lifeless object where even a gecko hunts insects. His black and golden stripes remind us of the power and beauty he once possessed. The poem strongly condemns the cruelty of poaching and makes us reflect on the loss of wildlife.
Author