Class IX Bengaluru girl wins Indian Spell Bee

MUMBAI: ‘Belligerent’ was one of the words that Samvida Venkatesh spelt right at the Indian Spell Bee’s grand finale. The Class IX student from Bengaluru won the HDFC Life Spell Bee—India Spells 2012, powered by The Times of India, in association with Horlicks.
“I’m an avid reader. I started reading at the age of four,” says Samvida, from National Public School in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, who lists Jeffrey Archer, Dan Brown, Suzanne Collins and JK Rowling as her favourite authors.
Samvida’s prize includes a trip to the United States to be part of the audience at the Scripps Spelling Bee, held every year in Washington DC. The cash prize of Rs 1 lakh will be deposited in the bank, says the teenager, whose parents are engineers in Bengaluru.
If Delhi’s Sukant Koul, was disappointed at not winning, he didn’t let it show. The Amity International School student stood second, but says he didn’t expect to come this far. “We didn’t think it was a great achievement when he became a city finalist, until we saw his photograph in the newspaper,” says his mother, Sarita Koul. She hopes her daughter, now in Class 4, would take part in the competition some day. “One thing common among the 32 city finalists is they are all avid readers,” says Sarita, adding, “No one comes this far by memorizing difficult words, you have to be a regular reader.”
Kolkata lad Soham Chowdhury, who finished third, said, “The experience has been priceless.” He is happy with his attempt but hopes to do better next time.
Sachita Nishal from Surat, who finished fourth, says “I realize I must learn to handle pressure better.” She says her parents were not so bent on her winning as much as they were on her having a good experience. Sachita has one more attempt to go before she is past the age limit for competing, and she hopes to do better the next season.
Quiz master Derek O’Brien, who kept the audience in splits with his one-liners, said, “Luck is part of winning the game. But this time, luck played no part. It’s a great achievement for them to have come this far.” He said this year’s competition was the best so far. Actor Darsheel Safary, famous for his role in Taare Zameen Par, who was present for the prize distribution ceremony, said, “It’s a great competition. It improves your language to an extent that you speak very well.”