Been to 245 countries

35-year-old Bangalore-based musician Benny Prasad has just become the fastest man to travel to every country in the world.

He lost 60% of his lungs to drug overdose in childhood, and doesn’t have a regular income. Yet, 35-year-old Benny Prasad has just become the fastest man to travel to every country in the world.

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The Bangalore-based musician completed his tour of all 245 countries on Monday, in exactly six years, six months and 22 days. “I travelled to about 50 countries every year, and never went sightseeing in any,” he says. “To fight the loneliness, I never stayed in hotels, except where it was compulsory. I stayed with families and engaged them with my gigs.”

Interestingly, Prasad has a steady flow of funds coming in through his website, and from well-wishers. “It might be difficult to believe, but I don’t come from a rich family, I can’t afford to work because I travel so much, and my concerts are free of cost — still, miraculously, money keeps pouring in from people I don’t even know,” he says, thanking God.

The biggest lesson he learned from being around the whole world? “It pays to live simple, be adventurous and befriend uncertainty.”