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Saraiki literature

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Tomb of Sufi poet Khwaja Ghulam Farid

Saraiki literature is the literature of the Saraiki language, which is mostly spoken in central Pakistan. The main Saraiki-speaking areas are Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Mianwali and Bhakkar. Saraiki is also spoken widely in the Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. Before the formation of Pakistan, Saraiki was written in Devanagari script by Hindus while Muslims always used Persian-Arabic script.
Since the start of consciousness-raising efforts about common ethnic language in the 1960s, the number of Saraiki publications has increased. Most of the writings from the 1960s to the 1980s were political in nature and are coloured by the ethnopolitical aims of the writers. Even though the number of publications has increased in the last and present decade, the Saraiki intellectuals themselves admit that there is not much readership, except perhaps for the works of some renowned contemporary poets, especially of the revolutionary poet Shakir Shujaabadi. Although writings in all the regional languages are suffering from lack of readership for similar reasons, in the case of Saraiki there are two additional reasons. Firstly, most of the writers bring in colloquial phraseology (which varies from one variety to the other) in their writings and secondly, many writers, in their zeal to prove the antiquity of Saraiki language and to promote its Indo-Aryan feature, tend to use more Sanskrit words instead of the more common Arabic-Persian words in order to distinguish it from Punjabi and Urdu, thus blocking the understanding of their general readers.

Contents  [hide]  1 Poetry 2 Prose 2.1 Novelists 2.2 Fiction authors 2.3 Linguists 2.4 Critics 2.5 Dramatists 3 Artists and performers 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Poetry

Khawaja Ghulam Farid (1845–1901), his famous collection is Deewan-e-Farid. Sultan Bahu and Sachal Sar Mast (1739–1829) are the most celebrated Sufi poets in Saraiki and their poems, known as Kafi, are still famous.

The beloved's intense glances call for blood

The dark hair wildly flows The Kohl of the eyes is fiercely black

And slays the lovers with no excuse

My appearance in ruins, I sit and wait

While the beloved has settled in Malheer I feel the sting of the cruel dart

My heart the, abode of pain and grief A life of tears, I have led Farid

-one of Khwaja Ghulam Farid's poems (translated)

Shakir Shujabadi (Kalam-e-Shakir, Khuda Janey, Shakir Diyan Ghazlan, Peelay Patr, Munafqan Tu Khuda Bachaway, Shakir De Dohray are his famous books) is very well recognized modern poet. Following are the major Saraiki poets:

• Bedil Sindhi (Dewan-i-bedil)
• Hamal Leghari (Dewan-i- Hamal)
• Lutf Ali (Saifal Nama)
• Rasheed Khan Qaisrani
• Khurum Bahawalpuri (Khiaban-i-Kurum)
• Safeer Leshari (Vepray)
• Mumtaz Haider Daher (Andharay-de- raat and Kashkool vich samandar)
• Ashoo Lal (Chhero hath nah murli)
• Iqbal Sokri (Kalay Roh, Chitti Baraf)
• Bashir Ghamkhawr
• Mustafa Khadim
• Refat Abbas (Parchhian ute Phul and Sangat Ved)
• Nasrullah Khan Nasir (Ajrak and Aoey Hoey)
• Jahngeer Mkhlis
• Qais Faridi (Nemro)
• Aman-ullah Arshad
• Naseer Sarmad (Sojhla)
• Saeed Akhtar Sial
• Bakht Fakir of Ahmad pur Lamma
• Ahamad Khan Tariq
• Hazrat Pir Mitha
• Ashaq Buzdar
• Haji Qadir Gurmani

[edit] Prose

This article may contain excessive, poor or irrelevant examples. You can improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. (April 2010)

[edit] Novelists

Ismail Ahmedani is probably the most celebrated novelist and fiction writer in modern Saraiki literature. Ahmedani has done much to promote the Saraiki language as a language for modern fiction writing. He was awarded Khwaja Ghulam Farid award by the government of Pakistan on Chholian. Ismail Ahmedani died at Karachi on 6 June 2007 and buried in his home village of Rasoolpur.

[edit] Fiction authors

• Ismail Ahmedani, novelist and fiction writer, author of Amar Kahani, Peet de Pandh and Chhulian
• Ghazala Ahmedani, fiction writer, author of Aj de Marvi
• Mussrat Kalanchvi, fiction writer, author of Uchi Dharti Jhika Asman
• Batool Rahmani, fiction writer
• Zafar Lishari, fiction writer and novelist, author of novels Nazoo and Pahaj
• Ahsan Wagha, fiction writer, author of Thal Karen Darya and Aadi Was
• Hafeez Khan, fiction writer, author of Veendi Rut De Sham
• Aslam Aziz Durani, fiction writer
• Bast Bhutti, fiction writer

[edit] Linguists

• Mehr Abdul Haq, author of Multani Zaban Ka Urdu Se Taaluq
• Zami Bahawalpuri, author of Saraiki Lughat and Saraiki Zaban Ka Irtaqa
• Dilshad Kalanchvi, author of Saraiki Lisaniat
• Ahsan Wagha, M.Phil thesis The Saraiki Language: Its Growth and Development
• Shaukat Mughal, author of Saraiki Dian Khas Awazan Di Kahani, Saraiki Muhawaray, Saraiki Masadir, Saraiki Parhoon Te Saraiki Lekhoon and others

[edit] Critics

• Sadique Taher, writer of the collection of articles Wewaray
• Javed Chandio, Head of the Siraiki Department in The islamia University of Bahawalpur(Pakistan). He is the first and the only Ph.d in Siraiki literature from the Siraiki Department. Author/editor of eight books on Siraiki literature. writer of valuable critical work on Khwaja Ghulam Farid. His major work is as under:

Divan-i-Farid (1998) Khwaja Farid (1999) Allah Mailay Wal Sang Yaara (2003) Maqalaat (2003) Armughan-i-Khwaja Farid (2003) Siraiki Zaban Adab Aur Mua'shra (2007) Savail I & II (1995 & 1997)
Having many valuable research articles on his credit. Edited the oldest qurterly journal "Siraiki" since 1999. Headed the oldest Siraiki literary organization "Siraiki Adbi Majlis(Regd.) Bahawalpur" Since 1999. The First Gold Medalist in M.A. Siraiki and the first regular teacher of the Siraiki language & Literature in any University of Pakistan. He is still teaching in the University.^[1]

[edit] Dramatists

• Ismail Ahmedani
• Hafeez Khan

[edit] Artists and performers

Saraiki folk singer late Pathanay Khan

• Attaullah Khan Essa Khailwi
• Pathanay Khan
• Abida Parveen
• Ustad Muhammad Juman
• Suraiya Multanikar
• Mansoor Malangi
• Ahmed Nawaz Cheena
• Sarai Saleh
• Talib Hussain Dard
• The Sketches (band)

Many modern Pakistan Singers like Hadiqa Kiyani and Ali Zafar have also sung Saraiki folk songs.

[edit] See also

• Saraiki people
• Saraiki language
• Saraiki culture
• Saraikistan
• Saraiki Waseb
• Sauvira Kingdom

[edit] References

1. ^ http://iub.edu.pk/teacher.php?dept_id=26&teacher_id=563

[edit] External links

• http://www.seraikigeet.com

[show]v · d · e Literature of Pakistan

Mithankot, Pak Pattan

Mithankot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

Mithan Kot
Kot Mithan
Mithan Kot
Coordinates: 30.12°N 71.27°E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)

Mithankot (Mithancot, Mithankote, Kotmithan, Kotmithan Sharif, Kot Mithan) (Urdu: مٹھن کوٹ), is located in southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Contents  [hide]  1 Geography 2 History 3 Mithan Kot Now a Days 4 See also 5 Notes

[edit] Geography

Mithankot is located on the right (west) bank of the Indus River, only a short distance downstream from its junction with Panjnad River. The latter is formed by successive confluence of the five rivers of Punjab, namely Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. Panjnad River is approximately 45 miles (72 km) in length and joins the Sindhu river just above Mithankot. Because of its location at the confluence of major rivers, Mithankot was labelled as Allahabad (confluence of Ganges and Yamuna rivers) of the Indus by some historians. Early Greek historians and later Arab geographers have described a settlement named Pasipeda and Besmaid respectively on the western bank of the Indus river near its junction with the Satluj river. It is possible that this settlement was later renamed as Mithankot.

• 28°57' N
• 70°22' E

[edit] History

It is an ancient and historic town in the extreme southwest part of the province of Punjab in Pakistan; currently it is a part of the Rajanpur Tehsil of the Rajanpur District. Previously Mithankot as well as Rajanpur were parts of the Dera Ghazi Khan District of Punjab, Pakistan.
It is famous due to the name of Khwaja Ghulam Fareed Koreja (1845–1901) or Khawaja Farid (Punjabi/Saraiki: خواجہ فرید), who is one of the greatest Saraiki poets. He belongs to Chishti-Nizami mystic and Sajjada nashin (Patron saint) of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. He was born and died at Chacharan Shrif but buried at Kot Mithan. It is an ancient and historic town in the extreme southwest part of the province of Punjab in Pakistan; currently it is a part of the Rajanpur Tehsil of the Rajanpur District. Previously Mithankot as well as Rajanpur were parts of the Dera Ghazi Khan District of Punjab, Pakistan.
He was the son of Khwaja Khuda Bakhsh, the successor of Khwaja Sharif Mohammad Koreja. Khwaja Sharif Mohammad Koreja's tomb is also in Mithankot, arrive here after migration from Sindh. The Khwaja Sharif Mohammad Koreja was the successor of Omer Farooq or Farooq Azam who was a companion of the Islamic prophet Mohammad, and second Caliph of Muslims. Khawaja Farid's mother was died when he was only five years old and he was orphaned at age twelve when his father died. He was educated by his elder brother, Hazarat Fakhr Jahan Uhdi, Who was also his spiritual Leader (Murshid).
He was a scholar of the time and wrote several books. He was adept in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sindhi, Panjabi, Braj Bhasha and Saraiki. He was a great poet of Saraiki, Urdu, Sindhi, Persian, and Braj Bhasha. His famous Book is known as "Dewan Farid". He was an anti-imperialist poet. He opposed British rule in Bahawalpur. He said to ruler of Bahawalpur in his poem, "You rule yourself on your state and finish police station of British from your state." اپڑیں ملک کوں آپ وسا توں۔پٹ انگریزی تھانے
Sulaiman range of mountains and hills of Balochistan approach the Indus river near Mithankot; Giandari peak (1,250 m or 4,160 feet) being approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of the town.
The districts of Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan are located in Derajat, the narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Sindhu river (Indus river) on the east and Sulaiman hills on the west, these are the only two districts of Punjab (Pakistan) which are located entirely west of the Indus river; they form the link between upper and lower Indus plains. The town of Mithankot is the generally accepted border between the two Indus plains. Rajanpur, Asni, Chacharan and Umerkot are some of the significant towns in the vicinity of Mithankot. In various books written in nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Mithankot has been spelled as Mitankot, Mithenkote, Mithinkote, Mithunkote or Mittunkote.
Due to their geographic location at the confluence of the major rivers, Mithankot and neighbouring areas of Punjab were frequently at the periphery of various kingdoms and empires. In " Glimpses of Ancient Sind" authored by B D Mirchandani (1985), it is mentioned that the location of present day Mithankot was the site of Vrsadarbhapura, the capital of Sindhudesha or Sindhu Kingdom founded by Vrsadarbh, the eldest son of Sibi. In the times of Ramayana and Mahabharata, Mithankot area was between Sauvira Kingdom and Sindhu Kingdom. The Sindhu river formed the eastern border of Persian empire of Darius I (522 BCE - 486 BCE); hence, the site of Mithankot was near the extreme edge of his empire. After the Persians lost control over Indus satrapy, the site of Mithankot was between the kingdom of Mallians in the north and Sambasti (the kingdom of Sambus) in the south. Later, it was at the eastern border of the short-lived empire of Alexander the Great, near the southern border of Kushan empire, near the western border of Gupta empire and at the southern border of Babur's empire. Later, it was at the southwest periphery of the Sikh empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1780–1839, (the Sutlej and Panjnad rivers being the southern limits of his empire), just beyond the northern limit of the princely state of Khairpur in upper Sindh and across the Indus river from the western limit of the princely state of Bahawalpur. Because of its peripheral location at the frontier, Mithankot, along with the neighbouring areas, was either neglected and "left alone" or it was subjected to plundering raids, greater scrutiny and repression, as border areas are often subjected to.
Mithankot is in the centre of the area of the Indus Valley civilization, roughly halfway between Harrapa and Mohenjo-daro, the two major cities of Indus Valley civilization. It was an important transit point and a major riverine trade centre along one of the southern routes of the "silk road" connecting central Asia and China to the Arabian Sea. Since prehistoric times, Mithankot was and has remained until today an important site for crossing the Sindhu river. The river, at this site, has two large islands which divide the river waters into three fordable streams. A bridge of boats was used to cross the river in fall, winter and early spring, when the water flow was slow and lethargic, to reach Chacharan, a town on the east bank of the river in Rahim Yar Khan district of Pakistan. The river islands have a fertile soil enriched by the silt brought by the waters of Sindhu river every spring and summer; water melons and fennel were two prized crops. Currently ferries, boats and railway provide transportation across the river. Indus Queen was one famous large stern-wheeler used for ferry service.
The confluence of the Sindhu with other rivers in the vicinity of Mithankot is mentioned in Hindu mythology - Lord Parashurama camped at this spot during his mission to eliminate all kshatriyas. In the prehistoric periods of Ramayana and Mahabharata, Mithankot area was a part of the Sauvira Kingdom. The kingdom of Sauvira joined Kauravas against Pandavas in the great war of Mahabharata.
Alexander the Great of Macedonia reached Mithankot area in late 325 BCE while he and his armies were retreating from India on their way to Persia and Babylon (Pakistan Handbook by Isobel Shaw 1998). According to the historian Arrian, he camped at the confluence of Indus with the combined stream of the Punjab rivers to recuperate from the serious wounds inflicted upon him during the previous battle with Mallians at or near the present-day Multan and also waited for a part of his army led by Perdiccas to join him. He also crossed the bridge of boats in operation at this location on the Indus river since prehistoric ancient times. He fixed the junction of the rivers as the southern extreme of the province to be governed by Philippus for him, and instructed Philippus to build dockyards and to establish a settlement at the site of the last confluence of the rivers (possibly the site of the old town of Mithankot or Chacharan). According to the local legend, Alexander realized the strategic importance of the crossing site and left a garrison of infantry and the entire Thracian cavalry in order to maintain control over it. Within two years, however, the garrison lost the control to Indians and some or all of the Greek, Persian, Thracian and Macedonian soldiers of the garrison married the local girls and became assimilated into the local Hindu society.
Some historians believe that, in 325 BCE, the confluence of the Sindhu with the rivers from Punjab was higher and near the present location of Uch Sharif, and gradually the Sindhu river and the confluence meandered southwest to the present location near Mithankot. It is highly probable that some of the inhabitants also moved along with the shifting courses of rivers, as the rivers were the most important source of their livelihood. It is not clear from the writings of Alexander's historians whether the settlement of Mithankot existed at that time, it had a different name or if a new city was ever built at all.
Guru Nanak Dev (1469–1538), the founder of Sikhism visited Mithankot in 1518; he held a lively debate on theology, God and other spiritual matters with Mian Mitha, a noted Muslim saint residing at Mithankot, and then returned to Kartarpur in north Punjab. It is possible that Mithankot's original name was Panchnaad, and it was renamed as Mithankot as an honor to Mian Mitha. Khawaja Farid (1844–1901), a notable Saraiki poet and Sufi mystic was born at Mithankot and also died there. His mazar attracts many pilgrims.
In 1836, Mithankot, by then a strong Sikh garrison fortress, was attacked by the Mazari tribal forces under the command of Sardar Karam Khan, the younger brother of the Mazari Chief Sardar Mir Bahram Khan. The attack came as retaliation to Raja Kharak Singh’s constant threats to the Mazari capitol of Rojhan Mazari. Many lives were lost and the garrison along with the city was completely burnt down. All the prisoners taken by the Mazari tribesman were later skinned alive and burnt near the city. A few days later the Sikhs under the command of Raja Kharak Singh retaliated and attacked the Mazari capital of Rojhan and managed to burn it down but the Sikh army was quickly engaged by the forces of Sardar Mir Bahram Khan and driven back towards Mithankot. Despite, suffering a major loss in terms of property, only a handful of Mazaris lost their lives as the news of the attack had reached the court of the Mazari Sardar a few days earlier thereby eliminating the element of surprise. These events led to regular skirmishes between the Mazari and the Sikh forces resulting in loss of life on both sides. Then finally in early 1838, a deal was brokered between Sardar Mir Bahram Khan and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh which led to an armistice that was signed by the Chief’s younger brother Sardar Karam Khan and Diwan Sawan Mal, the Maharaja’s Governor of Multan. Later that year Sardar Mir Bahram Khan along with twelve thousand Mazari Tribesman, court officials and notables visited Lahore on the invitation of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. The Mazaris were well received by the Maharaja at the Lahore Fort and given a royal welcome. The Maharaja had the Mughal era Naulakha Pavilion inside the Lahore Fort specially renovated for the month long stay of Sardar Mir Bahram Khan. This meeting between the two leaders officially brought an end to the long war between the Sikh Maharaja and the Mazari Sardar that started with the attack at Mitankot.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh had grandiose plans to convert Mithankot to a large commercial and trade center similar to Bombay (now known as Mumbai); for some reasons, his plans were not carried out.
At the end of Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849), this area including Mithankot was surrendered by Sikhs to British forces; Mithankot became a part of the Dera Ghazi Khan District, the Multan Division of the Punjab province of British India. During the previous reigns of Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh (he had conquered Mithankot in 1817) and his successors, Dewan Sawan Mal was the governor of this region. Under his supervision, an existing but neglected network of irrigation canals had been improved upon and expanded to bring prosperity to the region. A small but well built mud fort was present on the river side of the town. The British demolished the fort; instead an army cantonment was built and later abandoned in 1862.
For more than a decade after the British takeover, Mithankot was an important trade as well as administrative and military center of the British government in south part of district Dera Ghazi Khan; its importance was second to Dera Ghazi Khan, the administrative headquarters of the district. In 1862, Mithankot was inundated and washed away by floods from the Sindhu river; the offices of the assistant district commissioner and the assistant district magistrate were shifted to Rajanpur, which was until then an unimportant village but now became the headquarters of the tahsil. Rajanpur had the advantage of being at a considerable distance from the Sindhu river. The old town and the cantonment of Mithankot were abandoned and a new town with straight roads intersecting at right angles and planned markets was built on an eminence five miles from the river, but the town, however, did not regain its previous importance as the administrative center.^[1] During the period of relocation and rebuilding the town, the business of grain export was moved to Rajanpur and a substantial number of prosperous and influential Hindu Arora merchants and businessmen also moved to Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan or other locations. By 1880's, Mithankot had lost its position as the mercantile capital of southwest Punjab and had become a quiet but prosperous country town.
After 1862, Punjab Flotilla (a government sponsored incorporated company) consisting of many steamers and barges provided riverine transportation along the Indus river between Kalabagh in North Punjab and the Mithankot and eventually up to Sukkur Jhirk town in Sindh province; Indus Flotilla did the same between Sukkur and Kotri in the Sindh province.
This action undercut the income of the local shippers, businessmen and boatsmen. However, it appears that Mithankot remained an important transit station in the trade routes of Punjab and Sindh during the British administration.
Mithankot was the site of the Mithankot(e) conference in February 1871 between the governments of the Punjab and the Sindh provinces of British India when Capt Robert Groves Sandeman (known locally as "Sandmaan Sahib") was assigned the political control over adjacent Mazari, Bugti and Marri Baloch "countries" in Sulaiman mountains and hills west of Mithankot and Rajanpur.
In 1873, the municipality of Mithankot was established. In 1901 census, the population of Mithankot was 3,487 vs. that of Rajanpur being 3,917. Muslims formed 87% of the population in the entire district of Dera Ghazi Khan; however, in cities and towns of Dera Ghazi Khan, Jampur, Rajanpur and Mithankot, Hindus and Muslims were almost equal in number. Muslims, consisting of Balochs, Rajputs, Arains and Jats were agriculturists, while Hindus, chiefly Arora community, were generally better educated and were merchants, traders, moneylenders, and government employees. A small number of sikhs, khojas (Muslim aroras) and native Christians also lived in the district. In 1947, after the partition, nearly all Arora and other upper caste Hindus migrated to India; as a result, the population of Mithankot plunged to 3,675 (1951 census) from 5,881 in 1941. In 1998 census, the population of Mithankot was 13,556.
Mithankot lies at an elevation of 258 ft. above the sea level. The climate is arid and desert-like, the average annual rain fall being only 4 inches (100mm). It is extremely hot in summer and quite cold in winter. The cultivation of crops (wheat, sugarcane, cotton) is by the water of Indus river brought by canals made and maintained by industrious peasants over the many centuries.

[edit] Mithan Kot Now a Days

Now in this decade Mithan kot has a status of union council Mithan Kot Sharif with addition of some nearby villages in New Local Govenament system in 2000 by Pervaiz Musharaf.It has become a very important political, Historical and economical hub of district Rajan pur. Rajputs,Rao,Koreja,Wains,Khoja,Rana,Korai,Balouch,Dareshak,Lashari,Arain,Pitafi,Qazi,Qureshi,Bukhari,Comboh,somro,Malik,Gupang are the famous families in the business and politics in Mithan kot. Malik Kamal Farid is the first Nazim of mithan kot. He is the son of Malik Ghulam Sabir.Who was the chairman of town Committee Mithan Kot.Malik Kamal Farid is he most famous popular and beloved leader of the city from last 2 decades. He has done a brilliant job for Mithan Kot in the field of Education, Sanitation, Communication,Jobs,and construction of city.In floods of 2010 he saved Mithan Kot by his brave decisions of making new boundaries without the help of governament.

[edit] See also

• British Raj
• Alexander the Great
• Punjab, Pakistan
• Pakistan
• Arora
• Sindhu Kingdom
• Gopang Baloach
• Gopang Tribe Next King

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol.17 p379

Coordinates: 28°57′N 70°22′E
The king And rising a new power in mithankot evan all of the sraiki area from Multan to rajan pur district.His name is MEER MUHAMMAD FAHAD IBRAHEEM PASHA RABBANI ASKARI.

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In his brilliant book Mechanical Trading Systems: Pairing Trader Psychology with Technical Analysis, Richard Weissman draws a clear distinction between three types of traders: trend-followers, mean-reversal (counter-trend) traders, and day-traders. They have different temperaments, exploit different opportunities, and face different challenges. Most of us gravitate towards one of these trading styles without giving our decision much thought. It is much better to figure out who you are, what you like or dislike and trade accordingly. • Discretionary vs. Systematic Trading A discretionary trader looks at a chart, reads and interprets its signals, then makes a decision to buy or sell short. He monitors his chart and at some point recognizes an exit signal, then places an order to exit from his trade. Analyzing charts and making decisions is an exciting and engaging process for many of us. A systematic trader cannot stand this degree of uncertainty. He does not want to keep making decisions every step of the way. He prefers to study historical data, design a system that would have performed well in the past, fine-tune it, and turn it on. Going forward, he lets his system track the market and generate buy and sell signals. Systematic traders try to capitalize on repeating market patterns. The good ones know that while patterns repeat, they do not repeat perfectly. The most valuable quality of a good system is its robustness. We call a system robust when it continues to perform reasonably well even after market conditions change. Both types of trading have a downside. The trouble with discretionary trading is that it seduces beginners into making impulsive decisions. On the other hand, a beginner attracted to systematic trading often falls into the sin of curve-fitting. He spends time polishing his backward-looking telescope until he has a system that would have worked perfectly in the past—if only the past repeated itself perfectly, which it almost never does. I am attracted to the freedom of discretionary trading. I like to study broad indexes and industry groups and decide whether to trade from the long or short side. I work to establish entry and exit parameters, apply money management rules, determine the size of a trade, and finally place my order. There is a sense of thrill in monitoring the trade and making a decision to exit as planned, jump a little sooner, or hold a little longer. The decision to be a discretionary or a systematic trader is rarely based on cost/benefit analysis. Most of us decide on the basis of our temperament. This is not different from deciding where to live, what education to pursue, and whether or whom to marry—we usually decide on the basis of emotion. Paradoxically, at the top end of the performance scale there is a surprising degree of convergence between discretionary and systematic trading. A top-notch systematic trader keeps making what looks to me like discretionary decisions: when to activate System A, when to reduce funding of System B, when to add a new market or drop a market from the list. At the same time, a savvy discretionary trader has a number of firm rules that feel very systematic. For example, I will never enter a position against the weekly Impulse system, and you couldn't pay me to buy above the upper channel line or short below the lower channel line on a daily chart. The systematic and the discretionary approaches can be bridged—just don't try to change your method in the middle of an open trade. Another key decision is whether to focus on stocks, futures, options or forex. You may want to specialize even further, by choosing a specific stock group or a few specific futures. Making a conscious decision will help you avoid flopping around, the way so many people do. It is important to realize that in all of these choices there is no right or wrong way. What you select will depend primarily on your temperament, which is perfectly fine. Only greenhorns look down upon those who make different choices. ONE TRADER'S TOOLBOX In the first edition of this book, I dedicated an entire section to a description of my trading toolbox—its development and its current state. Some readers liked that, but many complained that they already had this information from my earlier books. As a result, in this edition I decided to limit a discussion of the tools I use to a thumbnail sketch. Looking at a day's bar or a candle on any chart, we see only five pieces of data: open, high, low, close and volume. A futures chart also includes open interest. This is why I have a rule of "five bullets to a clip"—allowing no more than five indicators on any given chart. You may use six if you desperately need an extra one, but never more than that. For myself, I do well with four: moving averages, envelopes, MACD and the Force Index. You are not obligated to use the same four indicators. Please feel free to use others—only be sure to understand how they are constructed, what they measure, and what signals they give. Choose a handful of tools, and study them in depth until you become comfortable with them. What about classical charting, with its head-and-shoulders tops, rectangles, diagonal trendlines, and so on? I believe that much of their alleged meaning lies in the eye of the beholder—traders draw lines on charts to confirm what they want to see. I am suspicious of classical charting because it is so subjective. I trust only the simplest patterns: support and resistance lines as well as breakouts and fingers, also known as kangaroo tails. I prefer computerized indicators because their signals are clear and not subject to multiple interpretations. Many beginners have a childish faith in the power of technical analysis, often coupled with quite a bit of laziness. Each month I get e-mails from people asking for "the exact settings" of moving averages, MACD, and other indicators. Some say that they want to save time by taking my numbers and skipping research so that they could get right on to trading. Save the time on research! If you do not do your own research, where will you get the confidence to trust your tools during the inevitable drawdown periods? I believe that successful trading is based on three M's—Mind, Method, and Money. Your Method—indicators and tools—is just one component of this equation. Equally important is the Mind—your trading psychology—and the Money, or risk control. All three are tied together through good record-keeping. (Continues...)