Powadh is the country east of the Sutlej and south of the Shivaliks, around Rupnagar, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Chandigarh and Ambala, running into Haryana.
It is the fourth region of Punjab and the one people forget, because it is small, because Chandigarh sits in the middle of it and is not part of any state, and because the 1966 division cut it between Punjab and Haryana.
Powadhi is a distinct dialect between Punjabi and Haryanvi and is treated by speakers of both as a version of the other.
Sirhind, Fatehgarh Sahib, Chappar Chiri, Kiratpur, Anandpur and Ropar are all in or on the edge of it. That is a concentration of Sikh history equal to anywhere in the Majha.
The Sutlej valley at Ropar has Harappan levels beneath the historic town, and Sanghol nearby has a Kushan-period Buddhist stupa with carved railings now in the Chandigarh museum.
Chandigarh and Mohali were built on Powadh villages, and the region's speech, its village names and its land records are the ground both cities stand on.
Powadhi is spoken in a belt running from Ropar through Kharar and Banur into Ambala and Patiala. It is not taught, written or broadcast anywhere.
The reorganisation of 1966 cut the Powadh in half. Villages on either side of the line speak the same dialect and read different newspapers.