The award will be conferred upon Bhosle during BMM’s 14th convention to be held in Philadelphia in the first week of July. President of the Philadelphia Marathi Mandal and host of the convention, Mukund Kute said that Asha Bhosle will be attending the three-day convention that will begin on July 3.

“BMM has decided that from this year it will felicitate prominent Maharashtrians from different walks of life. TheVishwa Gaurav Puraskar will be given every two years,” Kute added.

Bhosle said that the honour was special because it has been conferred upon her by Maharashtrians who were preserving Marathi culture and traditions outside the country.

Bhosle also said that Indian cinema has brought the younger generation of Non-resident Indians closer to the land of their ancestors.

“They have learnt to speak and understand Hindi and through the films they have started understanding Indian culture and tradition,” she said. The BMM convention is held every two years in different parts of US and is the largest convention of Marathi speaking people outside India.