Latest news with #Azra
India.com
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet woman behind Mumbai's most loved homemade cakes, favorite of Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani's mother Kokilaben, her name is...
Meet woman behind Mumbai's most loved homemade cakes, favorite of Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani's mother Kokilaben, her name is... Nearly five decades ago, Azra Goriawalla began her journey in the world of baking in the most modest way standing in her kitchen with a Le Cordon Bleu cookbook in hand, a thoughtful gift from her cousin. Her first creation? A batch of chocolate brownies. What started as a small step to contribute financially to her household after the birth of her daughter slowly grew into something much bigger. Azra, who previously worked as an accountant, wanted to get back to work after marriage. Encouraged by her mother, she decided to try her hand at baking. She sold 16 brownies from that first batch and they were just the beginning. Over time, her homemade desserts found fans in some of the most well-known names in the country — from Bollywood celebrities like Karan Johar, Kajol, and Vidya Balan to big names like Kokilaben Ambani and the Mahindra family. Today, Azra is the proud founder of Goriawalla's Bakery, a beloved spot tucked away in South Bombay, best known for its signature chocolate cake that's been winning hearts since 1972. In a recent interview with Localsamosa, Azra shared, 'I started baking mainly out of financial need. I had just learned how to make brownies, but I soon realized they didn't work well for birthdays since you can't write on them. So I found a good chocolate cake recipe and began making cakes with icing. I've never changed that recipe — I still use it to this day. People like Kokilaben Ambani have personally come over to place their orders. I've made cakes for so many — from Shammi Kapoor to Kajol — I've lost count!' In a recent podcast, filmmaker Karan Johar shared a sweet memory that speaks volumes about the love people have for Goriawalla's Bakery. 'I used to call Azra and say, 'It's my birthday — can you send me my birthday cake?'' he revealed which showed just how special her chocolate cake is to him. That's the kind of affection Azra Goriawalla's humble bakery has earned over the years. Speaking about her journey, Azra said, 'The recipe we use is very simple — just a basic chocolate sponge with my own twist on the icing. I've refined it over time. I still mix everything by hand using beaters and cook in large pots. We never advertised — people just kept sharing it by word of mouth.' Talking to Local Samosa, Goriawalla mentions that the day at the bakery begins as early as 5 a.m., with the staff prepping all the ingredients for the day. Around 40 to 50 cakes are baked fresh every morning and sold daily. 'Starting a business like this was never on my list. It was not a planned project for me, and neither did I expect such a good response from people,' she said. What's even more remarkable is that Azra still uses the same oven she baked her very first cake in back in 1972. For Mumbai's cake lovers, it's a place full of warmth, stories, and the timeless joy of chocolate.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Citizens Financial Group Announces Azra Pravdic as Head of Enterprise Strategy
McKinsey veteran will join bank's Executive Committee PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 14, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG) today announced that Azra Pravdic has been named head of Enterprise Strategy, effective May 12. Azra will report to John Woods, Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer, and to Bruce Van Saun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. She will sit on the bank's Executive Committee and will oversee a broad portfolio that includes strategy, corporate development, customer experience, innovation, sustainability, and agile operating model. "Azra brings a wealth of experience in building out innovative corporate growth strategies, while ensuring the needs of the customer are at the forefront," said Bruce Van Saun, Chairman and CEO, Citizens. "I look forward to her contributions as a member of our Executive Committee as we continue to advance our key strategic initiatives." Pravdic most recently served as a Partner at McKinsey & Company where she was a senior member of the firm's Financial Services practice. In this role, she worked with clients on topics such as strategy, growth initiatives, commercial excellence, risk and compliance, and process and cost transformation. She also supported clients on customer experience, including customer strategy and customer journey decisioning. "Azra is a talented and innovative leader who will help drive our enterprise strategy forward," added Woods. "She will lead an expanded strategy function tasked with ensuring that we are positioned well for prudent and sustainable growth." Pravdic, who began her career at J.P. Morgan Chase, initially joined McKinsey's New York office in 2011 and was named Partner in 2019. She brings global experience, having worked in Europe, and has advised a range of financial institutions across banking, wealth management, payments, and financial infrastructure providers. About Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation's oldest and largest financial institutions, with $217.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2024. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,100 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at or visit us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn or Facebook. View source version on Contacts Media: Peter Lucht - 781.655.2289Investors: Kristen Silberberg 203.900.6854 Sign in to access your portfolio
Khaleej Times
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
17-hour work days: How UAE henna artists are dealing with Eid rush
During this Ramadan season, Dr Azra Khamissa has already sold over 1,000 henna cones. Over the last few days, the Emirati henna influencer has all hands on deck as she along with her family members and assistants roll out more cones in anticipation of last-minute orders. A chiropractor by profession, Dr Azra is one of the most sought-after henna artists in the UAE. Her bold and unique designs have made her a celebrity of sorts. Her focus in the lead up to Eid is usually the sale of her organic henna cones and stencils. 'There are four of us whose job is to roll out the henna cones,' she told Khaleej Times. 'I have an assistant who helps me with the shipping and so on. Whoever in the house is free, they help me with rolling out the cones. It's an all hands on deck situation.' 17-hour work days For another henna artist Ambreen Wahid, who has almost one million followers on Instagram, this season involves a 17-hour working day. 'During the week before Eid, I usually start work at 9am and it goes on until 2am,' she said. 'I usually go to my clients' homes. I try to keep everything very organised and arrive everywhere on time but the week before Eid is one of the busiest times during the entire year.' Rihana, who moved to the UAE three years ago, works in three shifts during the season. 'I focus only on group bookings during this time because that reduces the amount of time I spend travelling,' she said. 'I usually take an hour or two hours of break in between the shifts to give myself a breather. Sometimes, I travel as far as Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to my clients' homes.' The Dubai resident who also sells cones, sealing sprays and henna balms said she stops sales a few days before Eid. 'The last few days, I am slammed with henna orders so I am out and about all the time,' she said. 'I don't have anyone at home when people come to pick their cones.' Despite the immense demand for her designs, Dr Azra chooses not to take too many clients to apply henna. 'The whole of Ramadan is a busy time for us,' she said. 'I prefer to participate in some special events and if I am feeling up to it, I will host a henna session at my house. I did it last year and it felt really nice to meet some new people.' Trends and costs According to Rihana, the deep blue henna called Jagua has become very popular this year. 'We are seeing a lot of demand for this,' she said. 'It leaves a beautiful dark blue tint and a lot of people are loving it. It is more expensive to make, so the rates are a little high too.' The rates of henna varies wildly depending on the intricacy of the design. Rihana said she usually charges Dh50 per side, per hand, for a simple design but in the lead up to Eid, she hikes it Dh70 per side. Ambreen agreed that she also hikes her prices marginally during the season. 'Usually, I charge about Dh150 for both hands but, during the peak season, I hike it to Dh200.' Ambreen added that white henna was also very popular during Ramadan. 'It is something people like to add a little oomph to their Eid henna,' she said. 'In terms of design, I started the coquette bow designs which went viral on social media. This year, there is a lot of demand for that design.'
The Guardian
22-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Turkey's protests over Istanbul mayor grow into ‘fight about democracy'
When demonstrators gathered at Istanbul's city hall last week in outrage at the arrest of mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, 26-year-old Azra said she was initially too scared to defy a ban on gatherings. As protests grew on university campuses and in cities and towns across Turkey, she could no longer resist joining. 'I saw the spark in people's eyes and the excitement on their faces, and I decided I had to come down here,' she said with a grin, standing among tens of thousands that defied a ban on assembly to fill the streets around city hall on Friday night. Despite the crowds, Azra feared reprisals and declined to give her full name. Many demonstrators were masked in a bid to defy facial recognition technology and fearing the teargas or pepper spray sometimes deployed by the police. Others smiled and took selfies to celebrate as fireworks illuminated the night sky. The arrest of the mayor of Turkey's largest city in a dawn raid last week was a watershed moment in the country's prolonged shift away from democracy. Opponents of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fear it is a move to sideline the sole challenger capable of defeating him in upcoming elections, expected before 2028. İmamoğlu and more than 100 other people including municipal officials and the head of the mayor's construction firm were served detention orders and accused of embezzlement and corruption – charges the mayor denies. He also denies terrorism charges levelled at him over collaboration with a leftwing political coalition prior to local elections last year, which saw major losses for Erdoğan's Justice and Development party (AKP). Justice minister Yılmaz Tunç attempted to rebuff any suspicion the charges against İmamoğlu and others from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) were politicised. 'Attempting to associate judicial investigations and cases with our president is, to say the least, an act of audacity and irresponsibility,' he said. Within days, what began as protests in response to İmamoğlu's detention has grown into something more. 'This is bigger than İmamoğlu. It's about a fight for democracy, law and equal rights,' said Azra as demonstrators massed around her. The Turkish president has long sought to retake Istanbul from opposition control, fuelling protesters' joy at defying a ban on gatherings in the city where Erdoğan began his political career as mayor. Standing outside a metro station as hundreds of cheering people poured into the street, breaking into anti-government chants and banging on the escalators, another protester, named Diler, called the demonstrations 'a response to the pressure that has built up over years'. 'There are problems with the economy, with education, with the health system,' she said in a nod to the economic crisis that has seen the cost of living soar. 'We are fed up with this government.' Supporters of the mayor said 300,000 people joined the demonstration in Istanbul on Friday night, while video showed protesters taking to the streets and clashing with the police in major towns and cities across the country. Turkish interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said 343 people were detained across nine cities after taking part in demonstrations. Turkish authorities ratcheted up their attempts to quell the growing protests, including blocking traffic across two bridges leading to city hall in Istanbul and locking down several thoroughfares nearby with lines of riot police. Erdoğan voiced his increasing displeasure at calls to demonstrate by the head of the opposition, saying: 'Turkey is not a country that will be on the street – it will not surrender to street terrorism.' Despite the domestic outrage at İmamoğlu's detention, the international response remained muted. The clearest reaction was financial, with estimates that the Turkish central bank spent a record $11.5bn propping up the lira the day after İmamoğlu's arrest as investors fled and the currency plunged in value. Reactions elsewhere were far less impactful. A spokesperson for the UN secretary general said they hoped 'the normal rules for due process will be followed', while US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Washington 'will not comment on the internal decision-making processes of another country'. US president Donald Trump and Erdoğan spoke by phone just days before İmamoğlu's arrest amid reports the Turkish leader is seeking a meeting at the White House in the coming months. US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told rightwing pundit Tucker Carlson in an interview that Trump and Erdoğan's conversation was 'transformational', adding 'I think there's just a lot of good, positive news coming out of Turkey right now.' 'The international climate has Erdoğan feeling very confident,' said Gönül Tol, an analyst with the Washington-based Middle East Institute. 'The president of the United States is undermining democracy there, meaning the US is looking inward. He just doesn't care what other foreign autocrats are doing to their people. Those things are really impacting a global climate where autocrats think they can do whatever they want.' European leaders previously quick to criticise Erdoğan, such as French president Emmanuel Macron, have yet to voice objections to events in Turkey amid expectations they could increasingly look to Ankara to supply peacekeepers in Ukraine. 'With Trump's return to the White House and his shift towards Russia on Ukraine, the Europeans are panicking and trying to boost defence,' said Tol. 'In this climate where Europe feels it has to defend itself against Russia alone, there's more talk about engaging Erdoğan.' European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen became the highest-ranking official to offer any criticism, stating Turkey 'must protect democratic values, especially the rights of elected officials'. Soner Cagaptay, a biographer of Erdoğan and an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said such statements were not likely to prompt any change in policy. 'There are unlikely to be any meaningful actions to follow; there will be no sanctions or disinviting Erdoğan to summits, declining to include Turkey in future planning. There will be no concrete repercussions, because of the way Turkey has positioned itself in this new global arena as an important power,' he said. The CHP is expected to push ahead with declaring İmamoğlu its candidate for president this weekend, after a symbolic primary vote. Those outside city hall were insistent the Istanbul mayor should remain the opposition's candidate, even if this means his running from prison. Cagaptay said despite the lack of international criticism, the push to nullify İmamoğlu could still backfire. Erdoğan was briefly jailed in the 1990s while mayor of Istanbul, galvanising his support and fuelling his run for national politics. 'He entered jail as a mayor and exited as a national hero,' said Cagaptay. 'Erdoğan is betting this won't happen [now] due to state capture, his control of institutions and the media, and he's not worried about international criticism.'
