If geography is fate (as Ralph Ellison famously
misquoted Heraclitus), then 12-year-old Partha Narasimhan is its
prophet.
Partha's parents grew up in widely separated areas of
their native India, met and married while teaching graduate school, and
came to the United States for more graduate degrees. Now their oldest son
- born in Inova Fairfax Hospital and living in South Riding -- is going to
Washington, D.C., May 22 to try for the top prize in the National
Geographic Bee.
Partha, a sixth-grader at Mercer Middle School in
South Riding, has won the local bee and advanced to the Virginia Geography
Bee finals three years in a row. Last year he finished third, and his
father, Suresh, said they'd be starting a run at the nationals. Partha's
mother, Sanghmitra - "S.K." -- has been coaching him since.
He won the Virginia bee against 100 of the state's best
March 30 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. The National Geographic
Society sponsors the competitions in hopes of introducing young Americans
to some basic knowledge of the world they live in.
The winning question
that sent Partha to the nationals: In what east Asian city is the Jin Mao
tower? (Shanghai).
Loudoun County accounted for 10 of the 100
contestants at the state bee. Tatiana Lozano, a seventh-grader at Simpson
Middle School near Leesburg, placed third, and Yohan Sumathipala, a
seventh-grader at Farmwell Station Middle School in Ashburn, finished
among the top 10. He was second in 2006.
Geography, Partha says,
"helps you understand many other things - politics, economics,
science."
Partha has a knack, said his father, for sorting and
analyzing knowledge, not just memorizing it. He can lift clues from a
question, and put his powers of deduction to work on what he knows to come
up with the best possible answer.
The winner will be tested on not
just physical geography, but also on understanding of history, cultures,
languages, religions and practices of peoples who dwell in all regions of
the world.
The final 10 contestants will compete for the top prize
May 23, broadcast on the National Geographic Channel, and rebroadcast
later on public stations. Go to www.nationalgeographic.com for complete
information on the bee.
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