Pratham Acts On Eradicating Iliteracy - A Magical Night Raising $1.4 Million

I have been personally privileged to be part of Pratham Gala‘s for now over a decade and over the years, the Pratham Gala has become the “Go To” event for charity driven community leaders, young entrepreneurs and professionals all coming together to raise awareness and funds for Pratham programs in India. The gala was held at the Hilton Americas and the evenings donations and generosity will benefit thousands of underprivileged children to get the opportunity of an education.

The emcee for the evening Rekha Muddaraj (KHOU Weekend Anchor/Reporter) enchanted the evening, while keynote speaker Dr. Leo Linbeck, President & CEO, Aquinas Companies, LLC and Executive Chairman, Linbeck Group conveyed a witty speech. Along with a scrumptious Indian dinner, guests enjoyed lively entertainment from Fred Astaire Dance Studios and Naach Houston (Bollywood dancing).

The gala was entertaining and informative without lengthy speeches, Marie Goradia conveyed a very inspiring message raising a whopping $1.4 Million. The evening was graced by Dr. Madhav Chavan, CEO and Co-founder of Pratham, who presented the NRI of the Year Award from Times Now (India’s News Channel) to Vijay Goradia for his philanthropic efforts in building Pratham USA into a massive movement, with 14 chapters across the United States.

Pratham was established in 1994, to provide pre-school education to underprivileged children in the city of Mumbai. Pratham is now India’s largest NGO in education, working in 20 states across India, reaching over 1.5 million children annually.

Also spotted at this high profile gala were: Dr. Atul Varadhachary (Former President of Pratham USA), Ash and Leena Shah, Sonal and Dr. Subodah Bhuchar, Anil Shah, Brij Kathuria, Sanjay Ram, Farida Abjani, Kanchan Singh, Pankaj and Asha Dhume, Nat and Leela Krishnamurthy, Roy and Reji Joseph, Manish Jain, Bimla and Swatantra Jain, Vibhu and Shreela Sharma, Ashish and Sameera Mahendru, and many others.

With a diverse group of over 600 passionate guests this year’s gala was certainly a huge success.

Gala Co Chairs Charlie and Angela Yalamanchili, Ash and Leena Shah, Pratham Houston President Dr. Marie Goradia, Gala Co Chairs Urvish Vashi, Anuradha and Mani Subramanian, Gala Chairs Arpita and Amit Bhandari