Original version

BBC World Service East Asia

Witness History

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: History

History as told by the people who were there

History as told by the people who were there.

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Witness History: Spelling Bee - The Children's Competition that Grips America

Documentaries

News

Spelling Bees - The Children's Competition that Grips America

02/01/2018 GMT

Spelling Bee - The Children's Competition that Grips America

BBC World Service - Witness History, Spelling Bee - The Children's Competition that Grips America

The first child of South Asian background to become America's Spelling Bee champion.

Thirteen-year-old Balu Natarajan became the first child of South Asian background to win the most famous children’s competition in the world in 1985.

In 1985 one of the most famous children’s competitions in the world was won by an Indian-American for the first time. Balu Natarajan was 13 years old when he won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which has been running in the USA since 1925. Balu tells Farhana Haider how he first got interested in competitive spelling and why he thinks people of South Asian background have excelled in the Bee.

Photo: Balu Natarajan poses with his National Spelling Bee championship trophy 1985. Credit: Balu Natarajan.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Witness History

Spelling Bee - The Children's Competition that Grips America

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service East Asia

About BBC World Service