It's a New Year!

My best-of-2023 list... 

This is my first column of 2024. But this week I am looking back – and giving you a taste of all that made 2023 (despite its many miseries) bearable for me. Here, in no particular order, is my best-of-2023 list.

 

Best trip: My love affair with Italy will endure forever, but this year it was another destination that left me stunned by its beauty and captivated by its charm. Morocco had everything that I could have asked for: a beautiful seaside town in Tangiers, a bustling modern city in Casablanca, a spectacular historical centre in Fez. And that’s before you even start on the beauty of the Atlas mountains. An unexpected bonus was the friendliness and warmth of the Moroccan people, and the truly breathtaking Oberoi hotel in Marrakech that made me feel proud to be Indian every time I walked through its doors.

 

Best book: I know the book was published in 2022 but it wasn’t until 2023 that I picked up Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons In Chemistry – and was completely blown away. It wasn’t the conceit of cooking being seen through the lens of chemistry that enticed me so. It was the character of the heroine herself. I don’t think there has ever been a character like Elizabeth Zott in fiction – and I doubt there will ever be again. If you have read it, you will know what I mean. And if you haven’t as yet, you have a treat in store for you.

 

Best movie: I had to wait till the fag end of the year for this one and, frankly, I went into it with zero expectations. But Kho Gaye Hum Kahan surprised me with its sensitive yet entertaining exploration of the world of today’s 20-somethings and their obsession with social media. The tone was far from preachy, the direction had a light touch, and the star cast stepped up with some of their best work. The star of the show was undoubtedly Ananya Pandey, whose emotional journey was the core of the movie.

 

Best TV show: There was simply no contest in this category. Slow Horses on Apple TV (based on the book by Mick Herron) was the best thing on television in 2023. It wasn’t just that Gary Oldman gave the performance of his life as the shambolic Jackson Lamb, whose slovenly exterior hides a razor-sharp brain and reflexes you wouldn’t expect from an overweight, out of shape, washed-up old spy. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, but it is Oldman who carries the show, helped along by the best writing in the business.

 

Best meal: You will probably expect me to name some fancy restaurant or an iconic chef. But the truth is that the meal that stood out for me was one that was grabbed on impulse, cost very little, but which packed a pretty punch when it came to flavour. It helped that I consumed it in surroundings of outstanding natural beauty, the splendour of the Sakura trees in full bloom providing an elegant complement to the egg katsu (sandwich) I had picked up at a grocery store in Tokyo. The creaminess of the boiled egg, the unctuousness of the mayonnaise set off the sweetness of the white bread perfectly. Heaven in every bite.