MUMBAI: Ravi Shankar and Asha Bhosle were honoured at the Asian Awards 2011, a global celebration of Asian achievement and contribution to the British and global economy and culture.

Legendary sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar won �The Fellowship Award' for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West; while Asha Bhosle, one of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood history with over 13,000 songs to her credit, was awarded the Kingfisher Airlines Lifetime Achievement Award.

Late legend Freddie Mercury was posthumously honoured with �The Founders Award' to mark the 20th anniversary of his death and celebrate the musical legacy of this iconic and inspirational star, who was born in Zanzibar and educated in Bombay.

British- Asian R&B singer/songwriter Jay Sean was awarded with 'The Lebara Outstanding Achievement in Music'.Other Indian winners awarded at the ceremony held on 18 October in London include Aamir Khan, Meera Syal, Dr KP Singh, Akshay Kumar, Google's Amit Singhal, Anand Mahindra and Shiv Nadar.

Asian Awards co-founder Caroline Jackson Levy said, The Asian Awards are about celebrating and rewarding exceptional endeavour. We are honoured to have been joined by so many world figures - with the support of our Chair of Judges Baroness Verma and other major personalities such as Meera Syal, Jay Sean, Asha Bhosle and Dr KP Singh, the Asian Awards were once again a spectacular success."

The Asian Awards in partnership with Lebara, was an ambitious idea conceived by Paul Sagoo, entrepreneur and founder of Lemon Group, and realised by co-founder Caroline Jackson Levy, Managing Director of UBM Awards. A celebration of excellence among the global Asian community, they were launched in 2010 to recognize and reward the outstanding achievements of individuals born in or with direct family origin from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan or Bangladesh across all disciplines of life - from business to the arts, culture, sport and public service.