Benny Prasad enjoys talking about his concert on the Pitcairn Islands. "I flew to a tiny island on the tip of French Polynesia to take the small boat that sails to Pitcairn once in two weeks. And we sailed for two days on rough seas to get to the remote island. But it was all worth it because my concert was the first to be held there in 200 years. Fifty-two of the 66 residents attended, making me the only musician who can boast of having 80 per cent of a country's population at my concert," he says.
Prasad has performed in a tent on King George Island in Antarctica for the geologists stationed there. And he recently made a 12-hour road journey at an altitude of 4,677 metres above sea level to perform for orphans in Tibet. The 36-year-old Indian musician has also performed at the Olympic Games in Greece and the FIFA World Cup in Germany. He has entertained prisoners in Latvia, construction workers in Dubai, senior citizens in Canada and children with special needs in Jamaica.
He has also performed all over Africa, travelling across the continent by road. "I had bookings with Air Senegal, but just after I landed in Dakar, the airline went bankrupt and closed down. There was no alternative but to travel by shared taxis that were crammed way beyond their capacity. Often when we reached a border at night, I had to sleep on the roadside on a rented mat until the immigration office opened the next morning," he recalls.
Prasad is no ordinary traveller. His name is mentioned in the Indian record books as the only Indian musician to perform in every country in the world. And last year, he established a world record for travelling to every nation in the world in the shortest time by covering 245 countries and autonomous territories in six years, six months and 22 days. This year, he was one of the first visitors to travel to the newly independent South Sudan.
Although he loves to travel and proudly displays his passport with 13 additional booklets, Prasad is not a typical tourist. He never does any sightseeing or shopping. And he never stays in a hotel, preferring instead to stay at the homes of people and experience their way of life.
Prasad's main motivation to travel is to help those in despair by sharing his story with them. "In childhood I suffered from severe asthma and the steroid treatment led to rheumatoid arthritis, severe lung damage and a weakened immune system. My academic performance was as bad as my health and I had no talent for anything else. I was so depressed that I attempted to commit suicide when I was 16. Fortunately, I survived. I then realised that life is a gift from God and that I must use my life in a positive way. I taught myself to play the guitar, composed several musical albums and resolved to use my music and my story to give hope to others through free concerts," he says.
His concerts are thus a mix of music and sharing of his experiences. And to make them more interesting he has developed the Bentar, a new musical instrument that is a combination of a 14-string harp, bongo drums and a guitar. "With my poor health and academic performance, I could never have imagined that I would be able to travel so much and meet so many different people, including many world leaders. But just by sharing my story of transformation, I've been able to help many who had lost hope. I am fortunate that many people appreciate what I am doing. Their support enables me to continue travelling. And I do not intend to stop just because I have travelled to every country," he says.
— Jyoti Kalsi is a UAE-based freelance writer
