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Why Indian-Americans Reign As Spelling Bee Champs

By Tovia Smith
Published May 29, 2012 at 2:50 AM EDT
Arvind Mahankali, 12, finished third and ninth in the National Spelling Bee in the past two years, and has been stepping up his training, in hopes of finishing first this year. He's even trained his little brother, 8-year-old Srinath, to read phonetics so he can help with the drills.
Tovia Smith
/
NPR
Arvind Mahankali, 12, finished third and ninth in the National Spelling Bee in the past two years, and has been stepping up his training, in hopes of finishing first this year. He's even trained his little brother, 8-year-old Srinath, to read phonetics so he can help with the drills.
Arvind (center) and his younger brother, Srinath, spend hours tediously going through the dictionary.
Tovia Smith / NPR
/
NPR
Arvind (center) and his younger brother, Srinath, spend hours tediously going through the dictionary.

Copyright 2012 NPR
Tovia Smith
Tovia Smith is an award-winning NPR National Correspondent based in Boston, who's spent more than three decades covering news around New England and beyond.
See stories by Tovia Smith