Ponnar and Shankar, who became rulers of Ponni

Ponni

Ponni is a 1976 Malayalam language film scripted and directed by Thoppil Bhasi based on Malayattoor Ramakrishnan's novel of the same name. Produced by M. O. Joseph under the banner of Manjilas, the film features music by G. Devarajan, cinematography by Balu Mahendra and editing by M. S. Mani. It...

 Valanadu in medieval Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, South India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, were twin sons of a Kongu Vellalar couple, Nellian Kodan (or Kunru Udaiyaan) and his wife Thamarai. They are credited with saving their people from an invasion.

The legendary story of these brothers,known as Annamar Swamigal has been a folk tale carried out for many generations through village songs,known in Tamil as gramiya padalgal and traditional street theater, known as Therukkoothu. This story also become the foundation for poems, songs, a film, and a Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 historical novel by M. Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi

Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...

. (Although there is no official geographic area called Kongu Nadu at present, it covers the districts of Coimbatore

Coimbatore

Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....

, Salem, Tirupur

Tirupur

Tiruppur pronounced as is a textile city located on the banks of Noyyal River. It is also called Dollar city. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tiruppur district. It forms a part of the ancient Kongu Nadu region of South India, where its people were the first to establish territorial...

, Erode

Erode

Erode is a city, a municipal corporation and the headquarters of Erode district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It is situated at the center of the South Indian Peninsula, about southwest from the state capital Chennai and on the banks of the rivers Cauvery and Bhavani, between 11° 19.5"...

, Namakkal, Karur

Karur

Karur is a large town and a municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated on the banks of Amaravati. Karur district was formed on 30 September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur District. Karur has a very long...

, Dindigul

Dindigul

Dindigul is a town and municipality in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. The name Dindigul comes from the Portmanteau of “Thindu” meaning pillow and “kal” meaning Rock and refers to the bare hill dominating the city’s both land and skyscape...

, Dharmapuri

Dharmapuri

Dharmapuri is a town and the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 65 km north of Salem. Dharmapuri is a part of the Kongu Nadu an ancient division of Tamilakam. It is one of the ancient towns of Tamil Nadu and a rapid developing...

, Krishnagiri

Krishnagiri

-Tourism:Thousands of visitors visit Krishnagiri each year. Majority come from Hosur/Bangalore and Chennai. KRP dam constructed in 1960's during the rule of the then Chief Minister Kamaraj located near the town, is a nice picnic spot. Nearby, Sayed Basha hills has a fort that was the fortress of...

 and Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, India