South Delhi's famous Shri Aadya Katyayani Shakti Peetham, more popularly known as Chhatarpur Mandir, off the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, is, for me, an absolute must each time I'm in the Indian capital.

The sublime beauty of the main shrine's primary deities, the Kātyāyanī and Mahiṣāsura Mardini forms of the Great Goddess, alongside the serene quietude of the entire complex, certainly play a part in its being one of my favourite locations on the planet,

the more so as I'm generally not exactly fond of Delhi (well, there's the ubiquitous crowds, the egregious pollution levels, and so forth, which underlie this sentiment). That this 1974-established place of worship is a marvel of architecture is an understatement.

The extent and intricacies of the sculptures, the sheer quantum of marble and stone lying in sight, not to mention the ingeniously harmonious meld of northern and southern Indian temple-building styles - there is almost too much there worthy of applause and admiration.

Whilst the Chhatarpur Mandir is a living embodiment of the beauty & grandeur of indigenous Indic culture, it is definitely far from being the only one. Yet curiously, the Taj Mahal is all the majority of non-Indians, as well as some Indians, seem to have the faintest clue about.

To anyone who knows, even slightly, the real India, this is as invidious as it is revolting.

Those able to get the point driven home here would, no doubt, chime in agreement with me that only Commies and philistines could ever regard the Taj as remotely close to this temple, in terms of visual appeal and otherwise.