Back in 1985, Balu Natarajan became the spelling bee's first Indian-American winner. (He won with "milieu" and acknowledged that the words have gotten a lot harder since then.) Our play-cousins over at Tell Me More back in 2009.
"The only thing I'll take credit for is helping to prove that it can be done by someone of Indian-American descent," he said. "Really, beyond that, it's the effort put forth by the kids and their families."
But Natarajan said that a community organization called the North South Foundation was one of the biggest reasons for the dominance of young desis at the spelling bee.
