M F Husain supports Pratham to help
child education
Pratham is targeting to raise
further funds to fulfill its mission of eradicating primary
illiteracy in India at an auction of yet another masterpiece by
artist MF Husain at Christie’s, Rockefeller Centre, New York in
March 2007.
The painting, titled, "Woman playing
Veena " was presented to Mrs. Usha Mittal, (wife of Lakshmi
Mittal of Mittal Steel, who is a board member of Pratham in
India and UK) to raise funds for Pratham’s programmes in India..
Sangeeta Chawla Joshi, founding
trustee and President of Pratham UK said, "Mrs. Usha Mittal, a
keen collector of art and antiques advised and assisted Pratham
in the organisation of our successful auction of Indian art at
Christie’s in May this year, which raised a net £140,000. Though
her philanthropic activities range across various causes from
health to education, her association with Pratham is special.”
“I believe that Mr. M. F. Husain’s,
“Woman playing Veena”, will fetch the utmost value in New York,
where Indian art is appreciated and in demand not only by a
successful Indian community but increasingly by the
international market for Indian art. The proceeds will go
towards educating more primary children in India, who
otherwise, may not receive an education.” stated Mrs. Mittal.
Over the last year, PrathamUK has held interesting events
including the Pratham Indian Art Auction at Christie’s, the
London 10K Run and concerts featuring the life and work of
Gulzar. These events have helped PrathamUK reach out to a
diverse set of donors and patrons in addition to the reach of
its Charity Balls in the past years.
Mr. Narayan Vaghul, Chairman, ICICI
Bank and the driving force behind Pratham and its strong
corporate support said, “The donation of painting by M F Husain
for Pratham's worthy cause is truly the fitting finale for this
year and I am grateful to Mr. Husain for his generosity"
Dr Viral Acharya, founding trustee
and Chairman, Pratham UK,
added "The volunteers at PrathamUK are proud to have reached the
milestone of having raised over GBP 1 million for over 150,000
children-years of education in India within a short span of
three years since inception in 2003.”
All funds raised from the auction of the
painting will go towards Pratham’s vital work with children
across India to help it reach it’s goal of ‘Every Indian child
in school…and learning well’.
For more information on Pratham, please visit
www.pratham.org and
www.prathambooks.org.
Notes to Editors:
The Pratham Movement
Established with the initial support of
UNICEF, Pratham has an ambitious goal: Every child in India in
school…and learning well. The Pratham
Movement is an inspiring coalition between corporate leaders,
academics, community members, the government, NRIs and qualified
professionals from the corporate and non-profit world, which has
spread to 34 urban centers across 12 states in India since 1994.
Since inception Pratham has reached over a million and a
half children through its direct programmes in urban areas and
over two million children in rural areas. This year about 20,000
Pratham volunteers are daily working with about 400,000 children
across India . In addition, Pratham hopes to have an impact on
over 10 million children in 2006-07 through its catalytic
program where it works with the government education network.
In October 2000,
Pratham was ranked amongst the world's three most innovative
development projects by the World Bank co-sponsored Global
Development Network.
Pratham has attracted a powerful corporate
involvement and the Charity’s main board comprises businessmen
and corporate leaders including Mukesh Ambani (Reliance
Industries), Kumar M. Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Vijay Goradia
(Vinmar International), Rajat Gupta (former Chairman, McKinsey &
Co), Keshub Mahindra (Mahindra & Mahindra), Lakshmi Niwas Mittal
(Mittal Steel), Nachiket Mor (ICICI Bank), Rohini Nilekani
(Novelist and Social Campaigner), Ajay Piramal (Nicholas Piramal
Group), Gautam Thapar (BILT) and N. Vaghul (Chairman, ICICI
Bank).
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