Friday May 10, 2024
Friday May 10, 2024
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By the Harmony page team
The Harmony page of the Weekend FT, as an initiative dedicated to knowledge transfer, especially educative information connected to the civilisation of this nation have selected the following books for a snap shot review series, in commemorating September and October as months dedicated to literary activities. Detailed insight into each books will be made available in reviews published later in this page.
The below books are currently sold at the book fair and available at the sales premises of Neptune publishers.
The four books selected are:
The Craft of Cross examination by Tirantha Walaliyadde
Let us begin with the book, The Craft of Cross Examination by senior criminal lawyer President’s Counsel Tirantha Walaliyadde.
The author mentions in the preface that the book is not a ‘law book’ but a ‘book of practice’ meant for those in the legal world as well as those out of it. In reading it, the conclusion could be arrived at, that it is immensely valuable to those not in the legal profession. The book provides an insight into the practical world of modern law as is practiced in the world today.
States Tirantha Walaliyedda in the Preface: “The basic statutes that apply to cross examination in criminal matters are the Evidence Ordinance and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, and a number of special enactments that cater to specific matters such as computer evidence and the evidence of minors and the Act under which the accused is charges.”
The book is replete with annexed scanned copies of folios of actual Information Books, Analyst Reports, and other documents that transpired in real cases in order to assist the reader in comprehending the vagaries of police investigations and expert evidence in context, the author explains by adding that the work does not concern itself with the scientific or theoretical aspects of expert testimony but with the external aspects of it.
There is a separate section in the book for jury trials, taking into consideration that trials by jury are distinct from the trial by a judge.
The book is not about the scientific or theoretical aspects of expert testimony but with the external and practical factors that often not known about, especially by those not belonging to the legal fraternity.
Retired Chief Justice Asoka de Silva has this to say in the foreword: “The late Dr. Colvin R. De Silva, one of the greatest legal luminaries this country has ever known, once remarked when I was a Senior State Counsel and he was opposed to me in an appeal in a murder case, that he had never encountered an accused who had been so badly mauled by the State Counsel in cross examination. The State Counsel concerned was Tirantha Walaliyedda, now a President’s Counsel, the author of this book. The appeal was dismissed.”
The former Chief Justice Asoka de Silva adds: “Walaliyedda has been in the field for over 33 years and has seen both sides of the line - prosecuting as a State Counsel and defending as a private practitioner. As a State Counsel, he successfully prosecuted the first ransom murder of a child in Sri Lanka in a sensational trial by a special jury.
“At the Unofficial Bar he has appeared in numerous public interest cases including the Udatalawinna massacre, and in the case of the murder of a High Court Judge in Colombo before High Courts-at-Bar.”
In the introduction of the book the author states that he prefers to call Cross Examination, a craft.
“It is a professional skill acquired through study, practice and application. In common reference cross examination brings to mind the cut and thrust episodes one sees frequently in court room dramas on television and films where in a matter of minutes the witness is torn and tattered and leaves the court room in tears while the counsel shoots his cuffs.”
He points out that this rarely happens in real life as even children stick to their stories even if they are pilloried and where the cross examination of a witness may take weeks.
The book takes the reader through the many vicissitudes associated with the route of cross examination and offers light through the otherwise dark tunnel of how legal verdicts are reached.
Explained in the first chapter with diligence to practical details associated with the meaning of cross examination, the meaning of hearsay, basic requirements of pre-trial, relevance of required tools and materials, police station visits, reports, photographs, B reports and inquest proceedings, identification parade notes and information book (IB extracts), among other matters.
The next edition of Weekend FT will carry the rest of the score of key details associated with this book as part of the snapshot book review series done by this page team.
Sri Lankawe Waddo by Harendralal Namalgamuwa
Written in Sinhala, this book is a comprehensive account on the indigenous people of Sri Lanka who holds the key to a gamut of nature based knowledge and values as lived in from the earliest days of our civilisation.
Veteran Anthropologist, Prof. B.A. Tennyson Perera of the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Jayawardenapura University states that in studying ancient historical literature associated with this country, a factor that cannot be ignored are the details about the Veedhah community of Lanka mentioned in the Rajavaliya.
Details are provided about the Kadol Kele (Forest of Kadol trees) and of a Veddha who was roaming the said forest looking for prey who informed the King of a baby elephant in a segment of the area. Prof. Tennyson points out also to mention of the Veddha community provided in the Vanni Rajavali and the Dambadeni Asna, details of which the author of the book has used. He also points to the information about the Veddha community found in the Tripitaka that the author has used as relevant.
Overall, information relating to the common habitation practices, hunting and even reference to a legend associated with re-incarnation linked to the Veddha community and ancient Sinhale monarchy is mentioned as having been used by the author to show that the Veddha community has been a core significance throughout the history of the country.
Prof. Tennyson notes that author has studied in detail information connected with the Veddhas that are mentioned in the Seethawaka Hatana where specifics are mentioned about the battlefront valour of 18 Veddha soldiers presented in poetic form.
Also used as references by Harendalal Namalgamuwa is the literary work titled Mandaram Puwatha which has described Vedddha villages of the time and the traditions thereof. Post-colonial writings on the Veddha people are also used by the author as relevant.
The first chapter of the book provides about how the Veddha community are categorised and divided into different hierarchical levels educating the reader of 26 Veddha categories/ hierarchies as known historically from ancient records and factually reiterated by 19th century colonial writers and researchers.
The first chapter also details about the social and religious life of the Veddhas and historical record used to explain that although the Veddhas were not practicing Buddhism, that they were often used in Buddhist rituals as needed according to context. An important fact detailed out is that during the time of constructing the Ruwanwela Mahaseya, the required assistance were supplied by the Veddhas.
The detailed review of the book along with an interview with the author will be published in this page in the following editions.
WediJana Urumaya; presented by Prishantha Gunawardena, Gamini Adikari, Harendralal Namalgamuwa, Jayampath Senanayake, Umanga Roshini and Nalin Deepal Munasinghe
It should be mentioned at the outset that the praise for this book comes from no other than the current Veddha community leader, Uruwargiye Wannilaaththo. The Veddha leader states that this particular book has captured some key hitherto unknown details about the indigenous people of this ancient land.
Written in the same vein of scholarship as seen in the previously mentioned book on Veddhas, this particular book, presented akin to magazine format, offers also very poignant photographs which makes the reader associate closely with what is said through the written word.
The work is a collective effort by many academics and researchers who have years of experience in anthropological and sociological analysis pertaining to the indigenous people of this nation.
Among the topics dealt with in the book is the threat posed by the modern world to the integral culture and traditions of the Veddha people, understating the ancient lineage of the Veddhas, factors that connect to environment protection and the lifestyle of the indigenous community, the diverse skills associated with the Veddhas and the impact of modernity, the intangible heritage related factors of the Veddhas, analysis into the aesthetics associated with the community and a range of topics connected to feminism and gender studies as associated with the Veddhas.
The full review of this book and the excerpts of interviews with the authors will be published in this page soon.
On the Origin of Species – a Children’s illustrated version – by Miao Desui with Guo Jing
This book is written with children in mind but is an interesting model for illustrations can be used for adult writing as it is well known that simplified language of complex themes alongside illustrations provides a reader friendly backdrop.
The book covers the life of Charles Darwin and explains in an easy to understand manner, the basic theory behind the Origin of Species. In the preface it is mentioned that the author Dr. Miao Desui, proficient in geology, palaeontology and evolutionary biology, in addition to his expertise in literature, had spent two years translating the second edition of the “On the Origin of Species’ to narrate the life and theory of Darwin in non-scientific language that anyone, especially children could easily grasp.
The book begins with Darwin’s childhood and preoccupation with the natural world which laid the foundation for his later discovery. Throughout the book an interest is aroused in the reader in the natural environment that surrounds us combining the magic of humanity with the magic of nature in inspiring and soulful language.
The aspects of the Darwinian theory of evolution is broken down to interesting chapter topics such as ‘Weakest in the Jungle,’ ‘Survival of the Fittest,’ ‘The Problem that troubled Darwin,’ ‘Resolving problems,’ ‘Can instincts be formed by Natural Selection,’ ‘Rock formation’ and interestingly shows in one chapter titled ‘We’re all brothers’ that humanity is interlaced in this tapestry called life.
The last chapter deals with the stage of life of Darwin after he published the work ‘On the Origin of Species.’ The book also looks at reactions in China concerning the theory of evolution introduced in Darwin’s work Origin of Species.
All of the above books are found in the Colombo International Book Fair at the stall of Neptune Publishers.
