Senaka Weeraratna

Maithri Panagoda has led an exceptional life, worthy of being narrated as a story, from the perspective of Maithri himself and from the perspective of others providing fascinating biographical details of their encounters with Maithri at various stages of his remarkable life journey.

Maithri’s autobiographical sketch ‘ Along the Dusty Road’ is a remarkable account of his life experiences from village boy in rural hinterland of Sri Lanka to partnership in a top drawer law firm in Sydney, Australia. It emulates to some extent the rags to riches storyline of Abraham Lincoln, a lawyer himself. 

The 518 page hard cover with a bronze foil cover has contributions from 25 eminent persons of Sri Lanka and Australia. 

Their perspectives on mainly law related themes and contemporary events such as the youth uprising of 1971 provide an insight into understanding the agonies that Sri Lanka is going through even to this day.

Maithri Panagoda’s unmitigated fight to obtain the rights of the Aborigines are now enshrined in the legal books of Australia. Several of his professional colleagues in the outback i.e., Dubbo, and City i.e. Sydney, have provided breathtaking eye witness accounts of the ‘Never Say Die’ attitude of this widely reputed compensation lawyer. This is corroborated by testimonials from Aboriginal community leaders themselves.

This is a must-read book for anyone wanting to gain an insight into the character and personality of a rare type of lawyer who has never compromised in the matter of ethics, principles, or professional judgment and integrity to fit his political preferences or the passing fashion of the day.

It is doubly fortunate that the saga of a product of the Colombo Law Faculty with high international fame to boot could be distributed worldwide in the year of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Dept. of Law, Faculty of Arts, University of Ceylon.

As only a limited number of copies are being printed due to paper shortage in Sri Lanka, it is highly recommended that your copy of this Hard Cover Edition be reserved as early as possible;  

If you live in Sri Lanka, you may either buy the book from Vijitha Yapa outlets, or place an order with Vijitha Yapa Publications via the internet.

The local price is Rs. 5, 900/=