TFD Report
KARACHI: Sana Pirzada launched her sixth book, The Gavel and the Lotus, at the Pakistan American Cultural Centre, Karachi, in an evening marked by literary gravitas and gothic splendour. The event drew attendees from all walks of life, united by their eagerness to engage with Pirzada’s latest work-remarkably written in a span of not more than two weeks.
The Guest of Honour was Sirajuddin Aziz, Federal Banking Ombudsman and former President of Habib Metro, Bank Alfalah, and Habib Bank Zurich. In a deeply engaging address, Sirajuddin Aziz praised The Gavel and the Lotus as a work of striking imagination and thematic depth. He quoted extensively from the novella, commending Pirzada’s command over language, atmosphere, and moral inquiry. One line from the book, which he repeated throughout his speech, resonated profoundly with the audience:
“There are crimes of passion, and then there are passions that are crimes.”
The second esteemed guest speaker was Taha Kehar, a renowned journalist and influential voice in Pakistan’s literary community. Kehar spoke at length about Pirzada’s writing, lauding its fluency and immersive quality. He reflected on the key themes of The Gavel and the Lotus, drawing compelling parallels between Victorian England and contemporary Pakistani society, particularly in matters of law, morality, repression, and social hypocrisy.
The ceremony was conducted with exceptional grace and professionalism by Margaret Lobo Fialho, a global award-winning Life Coach. From the opening moments to the close of the evening, her facilitation lent the event a remarkable sense of flow and cohesion. With eloquence and poise, she introduced each guest with thoughtful precision, ensuring the
programme unfolded seamlessly.
The speeches were followed by a powerful and unconventional performance by the author herself. Sana Pirzada brought her gothic novella to life by reading selected chapters with dramatic expression, dimmed lighting, and haunting background music. Her theatrical rendering of key scenes transformed the reading into an immersive performance, leaving the audience visibly enthralled.
Over the past decade, Sana Pirzada has authored several acclaimed works, all of which have either won awards or received nominations. Her published titles include The Rose Within – A Gothic Romance, Vernon Hall & Other Stories, Naomi Byron, The Raven’s Call, and Tainted Whispers of Eden, firmly establishing her as a distinctive voice in gothic and literary fiction.
The Gavel and the Lotus is a gothic novella set in 1890s Cornwall, England. Written in the first person, it unfolds as a letter penned by a dying man to his niece. Through the voice of its protagonist, Finchley, the reader is drawn into the labyrinths of memory, the ominous marshlands surrounding a house called Isis Hill, and the unsettling presence of a retired judge, Sir Silas Godfrey. The novella traverses gothic horror, tragic romance, mystery, suspense, and profound questions of law and morality-standing as a reverent ode to Victorian gothic literature.
Pirzada has acknowledged that the novella draws inspiration from Bram Stoker’s The Judge’s House, Vincent Price’s performance as Nicholas Medina in The Pit and the Pendulum, and Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), particularly the haunting line, “I have crossed oceans of time to find you.” These influences echo through the novella’s themes of obsession, fate, moral transgression, and enduring love, alongside other seminal works of gothic literature and cinema.
The Gavel and the Lotus is available for purchase directly from the author.
