First grader outspells seniors in Bangalore

Seven-year-old Akash Pisharody is a cut above the rest. Knowing  spellings of words much above children of his age, his first prize came as no surprise at the India Spell Bee competition 2011 organised by Indiaspellingbee.com on Sunday.

“I read a lot and that’s where I picked up words and spellings,” said Pisharody, from Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, who was an exceptional case, as he was allowed to participate in the category for third and fourth graders, and even emerged on the top, beating his seniors.

His jubilant parents, Madhuri Nair Sanjeev and Commander KP Sanjeev Kumar, said his love for books and reading from a young age is what makes him stand out.

 “Both my sons enjoy reading books. Right now, Akash is on the last book of the Harry Potter series. In fact, my older son is an inspiration to my younger one,” said Pisharody’s mother.

Winners in the different categories have only this to say: Read, read and read more. “It’s when one reads, he or she can improve the spellings,” said Samvida S Venkatesh, from National Public School, who won in the advanced category.

 “Spellings can’t be picked up by studying them at the last minute. It is through reading that one picks themup over time,” said Vatsal Jayawsal, a Class 8 student from Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, who stood second in the advanced category. “The problem is kids don’t read enough,” he said.

There are those who are interested in reading, although those interested in spellings are just a handful, he added.   “The competition is increasing year by year. In some places, due to language barrier, the pronunciation differs, and that is a challenge,” said Vikram Nayar, the host of the event.

 “We started the spelling bee six years ago, when we realised that with chat and SMS, words were getting shorter. We wanted to emphasise that good spellings are a must, and wanted to create an interest in them,” said Shankar Narayan R, chief executive officer of indiaspellingbee.com.  The winners in the junior level were Shashwati da Cunha from National Public School, Tanvi Chaturvedi from National Academy for Learning and Hima MP from Sudarshan Vidya Mandir who won the first, second and third places respectively.

In the advanced level, Samvida S Venkatesh from National Public School, Vatsal Jayaswal from Bishop Cotton Boys School and R Reshma from National Public School won the first, second and third places respectively.