Lata Mangeshkar, Indias famous singer, received a lifetime achievement award for her contribution to Indian popular music and culture at the Merrill Lynch Diwali and Eid Charity Dinner.

The event was co-sponsored by fine jewelry company Adora, which is part of the M. Suresh group of companies, one of the worlds biggest diamantaires.

The charity dinner was held in aid of the Pratham Charity in India and the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan.

Pratham works on literacy programmes to provide pre-primary and primary education to under-privileged children in both urban and rural India. Since its inception in 1994, Pratham has worked with two million children directly within their local communities and its goal is to have every Indian child in school by 2010.

Some 250 guests attended the event at The Langham Hotel, Portland Place, London. The evening included a charity auction of pieces from Adoras Swaranjali jewellery range, designed by Lata Mangeshkar. Entertainment was provided by Udit Narayan, Bollywoods leading male singer. The event raised a total of £105,000.

Lata is best known as the voice of popular Indian music. The Guinness Book of Records listed her as the most recorded artist in the world with no less than 30,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs recorded in 20 Indian languages between 1948 and 1987. Her extraordinary success made her the most powerful woman in the Indian film industry.

Presenting the award, Ausaf Abbas, Managing Director and Head of EMEA Global Private Client at Merrill Lynch said:

We are delighted to present Lata with a lifetime achievement award, celebrating the vast contribution she has made to popular Indian culture. She is one of Indias best-loved personalities and has recently been given the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

The Merrill Lynch Diwali and Eid Charity Dinner was arranged in conjunction with Merrill Lynch Philanthropy, Merrill Lynchs charitable arm, which focuses on the education of under-served children and youth. In the UK this year, Merrill Lynchselected Pratham as one of its Charities of the Yearbecause of its extensive work to enable under-served children in India to receive education.

In 2004, the firm's giving totaled more than $35.5 million, with education receiving nearly half of that support. Last year's UK Charity of the Year received £250,000 worth of donations by staff and the firm. The target for 2005/6 is to exceed this figure.

Merrill Lynch pledged $500,000 to UNICEF, following the devastating earthquake in Pakistan and India, to provide emergency relief to children and families who survived the disaster.

Merrill Lynch is one of the worlds leading financial management and advisory companies, with offices in 36 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.6 trillion.

The event was co-sponsored by fine jewelry company Adora, which is part of the M. Suresh group of companies, one of the worlds biggest diamantaires.