NEW YORK: A glittering fashion show, presence of celebrities and some choicest Indian food at the upscale Cipriani Wall Street, helped Pratham USA raise more than $2 million for children's education in India.

The annual benefit dinner gala was hosted by the Tri-State chapter of Pratham USA, a non-profit, volunteer-driven group seeking to promote basic education in India.While Columbia University economics professor Jagdish Bhagwati delivered the keynote speech at the Oct 19 dinner gala, actress and model Mandira Bedi signed off the ramp as several prominent Indian American and American donors showed their support to Pratham.Inside Cipriani, the cavernous dinner hall seated more than 540 guests. In his keynote speech, Prof. Bhagwati underlined the importance of education in India and the growing shortage of skilled manpower.

"We have to build human capital by providing quality education to children from the earliest stages. Let's join hands for this worthy cause," he said to a thundering applause.At the event, Pratham honored Charles Kaye, co-president of Warburg Pincus and Shantanu Prakash, founder of Educomp Solutions, for their efforts in raising funds and educational initiatives in India. Also present were Rukmini Banerji, co-founder of Pratham and Mahalingam Ramesh, president of Pratham USA.

"We have to pledge and target to educate 100 million children reading by 2009. Education is always used as a tool to carve the destiny of an individual and collectively we can change the destination of a nation," Banerjee said in her speech.The New York event was put together over five months by a group of 46 Pratham volunteers, headed by gala chair Subhash Midha.

"We worked tirelessly to ensure the event goes well, especially because we were targeting high-net worth individuals," said Midha. "Glamour sells and it is even better when it's for a worthy cause," he explained when asked about the presence of five Miss India's along with Mandira Bedi walking the ramp.

Famed fashion designer Deepika Gehani designed a collection for the event, featuring white and beige Silhouettes. Gehani, whose quest for perfection, impeccable finish and sophisticated forms served as the catalyst for her to enter the world of glamour and high fashion, launched her own label in 2000 and has never looked back.Among the supporting sponsors were: Jet Airways, Sahara Filmy and Mutual Bank.

The public relation for the fundraiser was coordinated by Shruti Tiwari of Mediasphere.Midha mentioned that all proceeds from the fundraiser were to benefit Pratham's "Read India" campaign, a two-year people's initiative launched in April 2007 and led by Pratham. The ambitious, yet simple campaign calls for: all children of ages 6-14 years must know to read with comprehension, and write and do math by 2009. In the process, Pratham also hopes to make child literacy a top priority for the government, communities and parents, and change the attitude that some children cannot learn.

The four key components of the Pratham curriculum that make it unique include, Comprehensive Geographical Outlook, All Encompassing, Replicable and Strong Foundation. Pratham USA educates Americans about the tremendous educational challenges in India and raises funds to overcome them.

Their vision is to become the unifying movement which connects the Indian community in the USA to the cause of a literate India, and to also be a cause that appeals to Americans who believe in the right of every child top have a basic education.