The name ‘poochookudu’ literally means “insect’s nest” in Tamil. Since the ornament is most common in the Tanjore area with its famous old temple, scholars suggested that the design of the earrings was modelled after the top of a ‘gopuram’ (doorway) viewed upside down. The ‘poochookudu’ is rarely worn today as it requires a distended lobe. Women have to cut their ear lobes at an early age which is then distended by plugs of clay and alter by rings of iron or lead. It was always given by the father before or after marriage and was combined with a ‘koppu’(clove stick) in the helix. Widows are allowed to wear the ‘poochookudu’ but the ‘koppu’ must be removed.
