Visiting Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, going on an ostrich ride in South Africa, catching the Northern Lights in Norway to the Arctic Circle, this is not a wishlist. These are in fact adventures and experiences straight from the travel journal of 82-year-old Mumbai-based Arun Narayan Sabnis, lovingly called Ajoba ( grandfather) by ‘Gone Game’ actor, Shriya Pilgaonkar. Arun Sabnis has travelled to 90 countries on 7 continents plus and the whole of India since 2021. His goal is to complete 100 countries within the shortest possible time. And this is not just a number or target, but his father’s dream which he is proud to fulfil.
82-Year-Old Arun Sabnis Started Travelling To Fulfil His Father’s Dreams
It all started in 1962, when Arun Sabnis, a boy in his 20s, after completing his MA in psychology, visited his home in Nashik. He went through his father’s cupboard against his wishes and that’s when he came across old travel pamphlets and postcards of Kolkata and Hyderabad. Arun also saw a black and white picture postcard book of Pompei. At that time, his father returned from work and caught him peeking through his things.
But instead of shouting at him, he gently asked him what he was doing. Arun’s father then told him about his dream to travel and see the world, and how he couldn’t afford it as he had to earn for his five siblings. At that time, Arun Sabnis saw a very different side to his own otherwise “strict disciplinarian and authoritarian father”. He wanted to help his father fulfil his dream to visit Pompei. Alas, his father passed away a year later. That day, Arun Sabnis vowed to travel and see the world through his father’s eyes and pay tribute to the wonderful man who wished to travel.
Also Read: This 79-Yr-Old British Indian Woman Used Her Mom’s Recipes To Sell Jams; Earns ₹2 Crores Annually
Completing His Family Responsibilities & Giving Travel Priority
While Arun at the tender age of 23 decided to fulfil his father’s wish, travelling the world certainly wasn’t an easy feat. He revealed to The Better India that for the first 10-12 years of his career, he was a psychology and logic studies teacher in a school. From there, he went on to become an estate manager, marking manager and personal manager. He worked at CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra) for 25 years and retired at the age of 55 in 1995.
Arun fulfilled his family responsibilities of marrying his daughter, actress Supriya Pilgaonkar and his son, Sumit Sabnis, a pilot. After completing his family responsibilities, Arun dedicated his life to peacefully fulfilling his father’s wish, travelling. With his son’s pilot perks that include parent’s travel allowance and his own consultancy fees and dividends invested in Mutual funds and SIPs, Arun Narayan Sabnis became a full-time globetrotter.
Also Read: From Jaipur To Geneva: This 10th Fail Auto Wala’s Journey Will Inspire You To Follow Your Heart
Preparing For Trips Through Financial Planning & Encyclopedias
When it comes to planning for his trips, Arun Sabnis is an avid reader of encyclopedias. He gathered information about countries, cultures, history and more from the British Encyclopedia. To maximise his experience, he researched thoroughly, made notes on his readings before he visited a destination. In this way, he often had more knowledge than the tour guides themselves. His granddaughter, Shriya Pilgaonkar vouches for this that her ajoba was 100 per cent more informative than tour guides. It was only in the year 2006 when he became computer literate and started gathering knowledge online.
Apart from the thorough research, Arun usually aims to cover a number of countries in back to back trips. He practices early morning yoga ensures he gets vegetarian food at all times and never misses on his medicines. Shriya revealed that her Ajoba meticulously maintains travel diaries, where he writes his travel experiences in absolute detail. This motivated her to also take up journaling and she continues to do this. A strong pillar of good financial planning also helped him tremendously to fulfil his bucket list.
Also Read: Inspirational Story Of Avani Awasthee: Youngest Indian To Travel To Antarctica
Travelling To 90 Countries In 7 Continents
The 82-year-old grandfather has a bucket full of adventures and experiences that have taught him valuable life lessons. While his domestic travels commenced early in the 80s when he went on Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and trekked over Om Parvat, his international escapades started a little later. Arun witnessed a powerful volcano in the quake-prone Iceland, a stress-free environment in Bhutan, jaw-dropping architecture in Russia, the historically rich Egypt, robust New Zealand and Norway, among many others.
While Arun’s wife, Manjiri doesn’t usually travel with him, the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in England. He also took to Instagram to sweetly post a photograph of their trip to Switzerland, his favourite destination.
View this post on Instagram
And yes, Arun Sabnis finally fulfilled his father’s dream of visiting Pompeii, with his granddaughter Shriya. It was an emotional and heartwarming experience for the duo, where two generations held hands and took forward a family’s legacy.
Also Read: Meet Ankita Shah, Ahmedabad’s First Differently Abled Female Auto Driver, An Inspiration For All
Facing Life-Threatening Challenges In Antarctica
According to Arun, his trip to Antarctica was one of the most unforgettable trips due to the challenges that laid ahead. In 2011, he went on one of the riskiest oceanic cruises in the world. While most of his co-passengers were terribly sea-sick during the journey, Arun thought he would nearly die. He even had many nightmares of people searching for his dead body in the ocean. But once he reached his destination, Antarctica’s penguins, whales and ice-covered lands made everything seem worthwhile. And while the thrill of this super risky 60-hour return voyage from Antarctica brings back the chills, this has never stopped him from continuing his passion for travel, adventurously.
Also Read: Inspirational Story Of Megha Parmar: First Woman From Madhya Pradesh To Climb Mount Everest
Inspiring Everyone While Aspiring To Hit A Travel Century
Having travelled to 90 countries on 7 continents, coupled with the whole of India, Ajoba or Arun’s story is nothing short of inspiring. His zest for life and travel all started with a simple wish to fulfil his father’s wish. Today, he aspires to complete his goal of visiting 100 countries in the shortest span of time, since he is 82 years of age.
With Siberia and Mongolia being the next destinations on his agenda and Switzerland being a country he can’t ever get enough of, there’s no stopping him. In Arun’s words, his thrilling travel experiences have generated a feeling of submission, to nature. A feeling that we owe something to nature and we are nothing but a small part of this earth. And that’s a beautiful lesson for all of us. So, here’s hoping and wishing our Ajoba, an ever-youthful globetrotter proudly hits a travel century.
View this post on Instagram