Spelling Bee 2009

Kavya Shivashankar won the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee competition. It was her fourth appearance in the Bee. I couldn't help but feel good that someone of Indian origin won the competition. Last year it was Samir Mishra, this year Kavya. The fact that 7 out of 11 finalists were of Indian origin gives you something to think about! The competition itself was extremely tough. I couldn't believe that these kids (12 or 13 years old) were able to spell the words that I couldn't even pronounce!! To make matters worse more often than not the words pronunciation is very different from its spelling. Hats off to all the participants, and special congrats to Kavya for her sheer hardwork and perseverance!

Another interesting point - Kavya is the seventh Indian American to win the contest in the past 11 years!! Go Indians!!