Thiruvananthapuram: Writer N.S. Madhavan has joined issue with the RSS activists who have demanded action against online shoe distributors Myntra for selling cow leather shoes and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. In a sharp retort to their Twitter campaign, he asked them to seek a ban on the Kerala temple percussion instrument Idakka whose skin is made from cow’s intestine. The Sangh Parivar supporters had come down heavily on Myntra as its advertisement claimed that its products were made of cow skin. The skin of Idakka, which was known as ‘ulloori’ or ‘chavvu,’ is made from the outer wall of the cow’s intestine after it is cleaned and purified by members of a community named ‘chakliar.’ Idakka, however, is considered as a divine instrument.
