Word Wizards: Indian-American kids dominate the Spelling Bee hall of fame

(June 13, 2023) Balu Natarajan made history in 1985 as the first Indian-American child to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Since then, the Indian-American community has displayed remarkable dominance in the competition. Despite constituting only around one percent of the United States population, Indian Americans have claimed 27 Spelling Bee championships, including the most recent victor, Dev Shah, since 1999.

Indian American Dev Shah became the latest winner of Scripps National Spelling Bee

What’s intriguing is that Pawan Dhingra, a sociology and American Studies professor at Amherst College, attributes the success of Indian Americans at the Scripps National Spelling Bee to their families’ unwavering dedication to investing the necessary time and resources in preparing their children. Dhingra, in The Conversation, noted that these children not only excel in spelling but also demonstrate outstanding abilities in subjects like geography, mathematics, and other academic competitions.

Global Indian proudly showcases the achievements of a few Scripps National Spelling Bee champions who have brought honor to our community.

Dev Shah

Join us in giving a big round of applause to Dev Shah, the newest spelling sensation who’s already taking the world by storm at just 14 years old. Nailing the word “psammophile”, which means an organism that thrives in sandy soils, the youngster walked away with a cool $50,000 cash prize from E.W. Scripps Co, the bee’s sponsor.

Hailing from Largo, Florida, Dev faced some tough competition, especially from fellow eighth-grader Charlotte Walsh, who came in second place. It all came down to the wire in the 14th round when Charlotte stumbled on “daviely,” a Scottish-rooted word for feeling listless. That’s when Dev saw his chance and seized it. A student at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School aced the word “bathypitotmeter” in that same round. But according to the spelling bee rules, he needed to spell one more word correctly to be officially crowned the winner. And boy, did he deliver. Cue the confetti as Dev was crowned the ultimate champion. Way to go!

The champion also scored additional monetary prizes and some top-notch reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster.

Harini Logan

Picture this, the competition dragged on for almost 20 grueling rounds until it finally reached a lightning round, where the top two contenders faced off in an epic spelling battle. They had a mere 90 seconds to correctly spell as many words as humanly possible. And guess what? Harini Logan totally rocked it, nailing a whopping 21 words.

Her competitor, Vikram Raju, another student of Indian descent in Grade 7 from Denver, could only manage to spell 15 words correctly, which sealed Harini’s epic victory. After clinching the title, Harini, during a chat with the media, spilled the beans on her dedication to the bee. “I’ve been working towards the bee for almost six to seven years. Since I was in first or second grade. Spelling is something that sticks with you for life. Once you get into this journey, there’s a dedication you develop along with a work ethic. There’s also an added skill of networking for the bee.”

Karthik Nemmani

The super chill eighth-grader from McKinney, his laid-back 17-year-old came into the Bee through this new program called RSVBee, where spellers who didn’t snag a regional bee win or didn’t have a sponsor still get a chance to compete with the best of them. Now, here’s where things get intense. Karthik found himself in a nerve-wracking showdown against another Indian-American whiz, Naysa Modi. It was a real nail-biter. But then, plot twist—Naysa tripped up on “Bewusstseinslage,” and that opened the door wide open for Karthik’s victory.

For his epic spelling skills, Karthik snagged a cool 40,000 USD prize and a snazzy trophy from the Scripps Bee, sponsored by the EW Scripps media group. But wait, there’s more! He also pocketed 2,500 bucks from Merriam-Webster, the dictionary publisher, and some other fabulous prizes.

Karthik had to nail two words correctly to secure the title, and he aced them with ease. As the confetti rained down on him, the teenager stepped back and flashed a big ol’ grin. His winning word was “koinonia,” which means Christian fellowship or communion. Talk about a sweet victory! When asked about it, Karthik coolly remarked, “It was just an adrenaline rush. I had confidence, but I didn’t think it would really happen.”

Nihar Saireddy Janga

Get ready to be blown away by the incredible story of Nihar Saireddy Janga, the spelling prodigy who snatched the Scripps National Spelling Bee title at the tender age of 11 back in 2016. This little dude from Austin, Texas made history!

Nihar almost clinched the victory not just once, but twice during the championship rounds. How? Well, let us tell you. Another speller named Jairam Jagadeesh Hathwar also rocked the stage and ended up being declared the co-winner of the title. Talk about intense competition. But, here’s what makes Nihar super cool. Instead of just asking for definitions like a regular speller, he had a unique way of doing things.

No doubt, Nihar became an absolute favorite of the audience. Everyone was rooting for him, and it’s no surprise why. This young spelling sensation knew how to make his mark in the Bee in the most laid-back and memorable way possible. “I am just speechless. I can’t say anything. I am only a fifth grader,” Nihar said with the trophy in his hand, as he attributed his success to his mother. “My mom. It’s just my mom,” the Spelling Bee champion said.

Ananya Vinay

Ananya Vinay totally rocked the competition in 2017 and made history as the 13th Indian-American in a row to win the whole shebang. This 12-year-old superstar from Fresno, California, was on fire. She showed little emotion and wasted no time as she breezed through word after word. It was like she was on a mission, no messing around! But here’s the best part. Ananya had her own style when it came to asking questions. Picture this: she would just blurt out questions without much intonation, like “Part of speech?” or “Language of origin?” Straight to the point, no beating around the bush. That’s how she rolled, and it clearly worked like a charm.

Unflappable to the end, Ananya seized the opportunity when her steely opponent, Rohan Rajeev, flubbed a simple-looking but obscure Scandinavian-derived word, “marram,” which means beach grass. She calmly nailed two words in a row, ending with “marocain,” which means a type of dress fabric of ribbed crepe, to win the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee. “I knew them all,” Ananya said, after winning the trophy, adding, “It’s like a dream come true. I’m so happy right now.”