THE ODYSSEY AND LIVING LEGACY OF SIEUR DE LA NEROLLE BY YASMIN RAJAPAKSE PUBLISHED BY THE NEPTUNE PUBLICATIONS (Pvt) Ltd 2018 REVIEWED BY HEMANTHA SITUGE

THE MAKING OF A HISTORIAN A MEMOIR BY K M DE SILVA PUBLISHED BY INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR ETHNIC STUDIES KANDY 2017 REVIEWED BY HEMANTHA SITUGE

DR RICHARD DAWKINS'S SRI LANKAN CONNECTION WITH THE SRI LANKAN BORN MOTHER DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR BY HEMANTHA SITUGE

                                          Dr Richard Dawkins with his mother Jean Mary Vyvyan Ladner

The Sri Lankan born Jean Mary Vyvyan Ladner the mother of the well-known Oxford Scientist, an indefatigable champion of Darwinism, Richard Dawkins’s turned hundred years latter part of 2016. She lives the eve of her life, in Chipping Norton near Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Richard Dawkins has many salient connections with Sri Lanka. His Cornish maternal grandfather Alan Wilfred Ladner fondly known as ‘Bill’ was a wireless Engineer employed by Guglielmo Marconi , who arrived Ceylon (as it was known now Sri Lanka) in 1914 at the First World War.

As Richard Dawkins recounts in the first chapter : ‘Genes and pith helmets’ of his memoir “An Appetite For Wonder. The Making of a Scientist” that :

“Bill Ladner’s skills as a radio engineer were in demand, and he was sent to the Royal Navy as a smart young officer to the southern tip of what was then Ceylon to build a radio station at that strategically vital staging post in the empire’s shipping lines” The southern tip mentioned by Richard Dawkins is Matara where he was stationed in Ceylon for 4 years. Connie Wearne grandmother, of Richard or the fiancée of ‘Bill’ followed him out ‘where she stayed in a local vicarage, from which they were married’.

Richard Dawkins also asserts that : “My mother, Jean Mary Vyvyan Ladner, was born in Colombo in 1916” Dawkins mother was born in Cinnamon gardens, Colombo 07 and spent her first two years of her life at Matara.

Whilst their sojourn in Matara Richard’s mother was looked after by a Sinhalese nanny by the name of Hinne Hami Wickramaratne. 100 year old, Richard’s mother Jean still pines for her nanny.

Richard’s grandfather ‘Bill’ is acclaimed as one of the early photographers in Ceylon. Bill capture many photographs of the Southern Ceylon. Richard Dawkins sister Sarah Kettlewell possesses an album of about forty rare photographs of the war-torn picture prohibited Southern Ceylon of the by-gone days. Coincidentally Sarah’s husband Michael Kettlewell was a distinguished Surgeon and an Oxford academic who supervised many post graduate students from Sri Lanka. During the war his father Dick Kettlewell served in Anuradhapura.

Did Richard Dawkins’s grandfather ‘Bill’ Ladner was assigned by the British government to install the earliest known radio station in Ceylon at the southern tip of Ceylon – Matara ?

Richard Dawkins memoir publishes a rare photograph of a group of naval officers sent to Ceylon where his maternal grandfather ‘Bill’ Ladner seated third from the left, assists to build a wireless station during the First World War, together with turbaned bearded Indian Seikh gurkha regiment in the background in an identified location under an unknown banyan tree.

Richard also carries a photograph of his grandmother Connie together with the dog, who is found in the same group photograph. Richard poses the querry that : “Was the dog station mascot? It seems to be the same dog my grandmother is petting.” When the war was over in 1919 the Dawkins memoir also states that : “The family returned to England when my mother was three”, publishes a photograph when she was three years of age.

Coincidentally Sri Lankan born 100 year old mother Jean’s son legendary Richard Dawkins was honoured by well-famed Sri Lankan ichthyologist Rohan Pethiyagoda who created Dawkinsia as a new genus name, ‘in recognition of his contribution to the public understanding of evolutionary science.’

BOOKS ON MORATUWA BY HEMANTHA SITUGE

Don Martino De Zylwa Wickremasinghe in his Catalogue of the  Sinhalese Printed Books in the library of the British Museum 1901 MORATUGAMA-HATANAYA -A satirical poem against the establishment of the Gam Sabhawa "village tribunal"at Moratuwa, Colombo 1886 catalogued as 14165 .

Dharmmika Upasaka samagama Amurtha Warshawa A Buddhhist Tract issued monthly by the " Dharmmika Upasaka society " 1893

Holy Emmanuel Church Report of the Sunday School in connection with the for 1891 Colombo 1892 pp18 contains the same catalogue number.

 Former Mayor of Moratuwa Jayasumana Dharmabandhu a nephew of that reputed writer T. S. Dhrmabhandhu   ,[ his own brother Ariyadasa's son] wrote Eithihasika  Moratuwa  [History of Moratuwa ] printed at the Guneratne and Co Maradana in 1973 traced the word Moratuwa  from  the Tisara Sandesa kavyaya written in the 13 century.

BOOK REVIEW TITLE: MAHATHMA GANDHI LANKAGAMANAYA SAHA LANKEYA DESHAPALANAYA [ MAHATMA GANDHI VISIT OF CEYLON AND SRI LANKAN POLITICS ] BY SAMPATH BANDARA PUBLISHED BY SARASAVI PRAKASHAKAYO REVIEWED HEMANTHA SITUGE & ANUBUDU MIHIDU MAHAHIMI ( MIHIDHU HIGH PRIEST THE SECOND BUDDHA ) BY DR P. G . PUNCHIHEWA PUBLISHED BY SARASAVI PUBLISHERS 2018 REVIEWED BY HEMANTHA SITUGE

thuppahi.wordpress.com/category/buddhism

Rare Book on recovery law by Hemantha Situge,4 March 2019 ,The Daily Mirror, A11 FEATURES BOOK REVIEW TITLE : LAW RELATING TO RECOVERY OF LOANS BY BANKS ( SPECIAL PROVISIONS ) ACT NO. 4 OF 1990 AS AMENDED (SANSHODITHA 1990 ANKA 4 DARANA BENKU MAGIN PRADANAYA KARANA LADA NAYA AYA KARA GENIME (WISHESHA VIDIVIDANA PANATHATA ADALA NEETHIYA) AUTHORS: J.M.RANJITH PERERA, ATTORNEY - AT - LAW SENIOR COUNSEL - CHIEF AUTHOR & H.M.SISIRA KUMARA BANDARA ,ATTORNEY - AT - LAW, ASSISTANT AUTHOR PUBLISHED AS AN AUTHOR PUBLICATION

RAre Book on recovery law

Undoubtedly the book would serve as a vade mecum for a wide array of readership

Path-breaking opus is not a mere book it is an eminent commentary/study on the subject

 

The splendid book entitled: Law Relating To Recovery Of Loans By Banks (Special Provisions) Act No. 4 Of 1990 As Amended (Sanshoditha 1990 

Anka 4 Darana Benku Magin Pradanaya Karana Lada Naya Aya Kara Genime (Wishesha Vidividana Panathata Adala Neethiya) written in Sinhalesewas released recently.

It was way back in the year of 1938 that first book of the law in the Sinhalese language emerged entitled: ‘My Lawyer’ (Magé Neethgnayâ) written by B. J. Fernando a then Proctor of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. This book ran into several editions; in 1939 the second edition, the third edition in 1950 revised fourth edition was done by his wife Lakshmi Fernando a Proctor of the SC with a forward written by Dr Colvin R. de Silva, that eminent Advocate of the day. The book is now unheard and unknown apparently buried in the whirligig of time.
However, this was not the first occasion that law was made known to the public in the Sinhalese language. Advocate Herbert Sri Nissanka later King’s Counsel pioneered in releasing a Sinhalese journal entitled: Raja Niti (Raja Neethi) in 1925 where extracts of some of the statutes were translated into the Sinhalese language.
There was phrase coined in the legal arena as “like Silindhu” that in the double murder committed by villager Silindhu-- aptly based for the Bloomsbury Group English novel Beddegama by Leonard Woolf, that well known Colonial Civil Servant,--- stood at the Defendants dock mum, were unable to understand the happening of the Court of law where he was unaware of the procedure that he was sentenced to death. Though the Extraordinary Gazette bearing No. 1/6 dated 07th September 1978 it was allowed the use of English Language to maintain any record and conduct in any court of law in the country. The books in Sinhalese and Tamil languages have since Sri Lanka was made a Republic it became a sine qua non in our original courts of law. The reviewer finds a large number of Sinhalese law books are released day by day. Some of these books are written by Attorneys-at-Law and laymen alike. But how many of these books are written by legal practitioners.

This reviewer is of the fervent opinion that most of these books are mere compendiums. How many of these could make an impact on the legal system of the country? J. M. Ranjith Perera a Senior Counsel – a busy eminent practitioner in law ably assisted by H. M. Sisira Kumar Bandara Attorney-at-Law has filled the void that hitherto existed on one of the most abstruse parts of civil law namely the Law Relating to Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) No. 4 of 1990 as amended.

"The opus contains eight chapters. The first chapter deals on the history of parate execution. The second chapter is on the intention of the legislature. On careful perusal, it is evident that the rest of the six chapters are on the procedural aspects the book is a sine qua non a much awaited ‘nuggets of gold’ for the legal profession"

His path-breaking opus is not a mere book it is an eminent commentary/ study on the subject
It was Lord Justice Eldon once who said that: “A Lawyer should live like a hermit and work like
a horse “.
How many senior practitioners of the unofficial bar have imparted their knowledge of the practical law for the benefit of the present and the future generations of our country? The release of this book sequel to the first book titled:
“Law Relating to Debt Recovery Act No 2 of 1990” was written in Sinhalese. J.M. Ranjith Perera Senior Counsel and his Assistant Sisira Kumara Bandara has rendered yeoman services by using their wealth of knowledge for the benefit of the lawyers and the students by expending their time and energy to guide them for a sound knowledge on the subject.
It was the legendary Abraham Lincoln who once said: “A Lawyer’s Time and Advice are His Stock
in Trade “.

The country and the legal profession owe a debt of gratitude to Senior Counsel J M Ranjith Perera and his assistant H M Sisira Kumara Bandara for spearheading to release a series of books to educate the lawyers and laymen alike as they are indeed gems of wisdom to the legal profession and to the people of all walks of life alike. The reviewer learns that these books of these writers would be translated to the Tamil language to help the Tamil medium lawyers and the students shortly.
The reviewer finds a large number  of Sinhalese law books are released day by day. Some of these books are written by Attorneys-at-Law and laymen alike. But how many of these books are written by legal practitioners. This reviewer is of the fervent opinion that most of these books are mere compendiums. How many of these could make an impact on the legal system of the country?
The opus contains eight chapters. The first chapter deals on the history of parate execution. The second chapter is on the intention of the legislature. On careful perusal, it is evident that the rest of the six chapters are on the procedural aspects the book is a sine qua non a much awaited ‘nuggets of gold’ for the legal profession.

"The reviewer finds a large amount of Sinhalese law books are released day by day. Some of these books are written by Attorneys-at-Law and laymen alike. But how many of these books are written by legal practitioners. This reviewer is of the fervent opinion that most of these books are mere compendiums. How many of these could make an impact on the legal system of the country?"

J. M. Ranjith Perera a Senior Counsel – a busy eminent practitioner in law ably assisted by H. M. Sisira Kumar Bandara Attorney-at-Law has filled the void that hitherto existed on one of the most abstruse parts of civil law namely the Law Relating to Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) No. 4 of 1990 as amended. Their path-breaking opus on this statute is not a mere book it is an eminent commentary/treatise/study guide on the subject.
The reviewer read and re-read this indispensable book, found replete with thirty-eight reported and six unreported judgments pronounced by the superior Courts with an easy reference index guide culled with pertinent extracts of the Sinhalese statute and more appropriately from the English statute.
The book spans into 228 pages of pure bliss for the legal practitioner. The book contains two extracts from Hansards of the Parliament on the 1990 and 2003 bills and the debates that took place therein are found and where there were hue and outcry from the members of the Parliament introducing this statute was a draconian piece of legislation.
Senior Counsel J. M. Ranjith Perera’s treatise on ‘Law Relating to Debt Recovery Act No. 4 of 1990 as Amended’ has blazed the trail by his maiden book on this statute in not only educating the layman, law students and further for the busy legal practitioners; this reviewer advocates that the opus would be an essential guide. Undoubtedly the book would serve as a vade mecum for all this wide array of readership.

Blog- http// HemanthaSituge @blogspot.com

Rare Book on recovery law by Hemantha Situge,4 March 2019 ,The Daily Mirror, A11 FEATURESBOOK REVIEW TITLE : LAW RELATING TO RECOVERY OF LOANS BY BANKS ( SPECIAL PROVISIONS ) ACT NO. 4 OF 1990 AS AMENDED (SANSHODITHA 1990 ANKA 4 DARANA BENKU MAGIN PRADANAYA KARANA LADA NAYA AYA KARA GENIME (WISHESHA VIDIVIDANA PANATHATA ADALA NEETHIYA) AUTHORS: J.M.RANJITH PERERA, ATTORNEY - AT - LAW SENIOR COUNSEL - CHIEF AUTHOR & H.M.SISIRA KUMARA BANDARA ,ATTORNEY - AT - LAW, ASSISTANT AUTHOR PUBLISHED AS AN AUTHOR PUBLICATION

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news-features/RAre-Book-on-recovery-law/131-163254