All I remember about the afternoon was the shimmering beauty of Taj Mahal as the sun shone down on its white marble domes.
Oblivious to the oppressive heat and the throng of people around me, I stood in line to enter the Mughal marvel in Agra.
Hot breath and sweat thickened the air as crowds moved in and out of the mausoleum and around its sprawling outdoor gardens.
I was aware that India was in the midst of a new wave of Covid-19. The Omicron subvariant, Arcturus, which is supposedly more contagious, has been pushing the daily caseload to well above 10,000.
The fever was relentless for the first three days. I was groaning in pain and felt like my body had been run over by a lorry
But I lost track of the vagaries of the virus a long time ago. The days when we had to be scared of other humans were surely behind us. We are back in the game of shaking hands when we greet strangers, aren’t we?
I felt absolutely normal among a sea of people as I was confident that I would not catch it. I had already contracted the virus and recovered without too much trouble. I have had a concoction of two different vaccines, in double doses, for that extra shield.
But as I was boarding the flight to Dubai, I knew my body was coming down with something. My stomach was acting strangely.
I attributed it to “Delhi belly”, after all the street food I gorged on.
The next day, I woke up cold with a high fever. Things took a turn for the worse quickly. Fever and headache hit me like a tonne of bricks. It was a big day at work, and I thought I will pop two paracetamols and show up.
But my body had other plans. I was crushed under the weight of fatigue, unable to move from my bed. I knew it was not just a “feeling under the weather” sickness.
So, I did the responsible thing and got myself tested. The result came back positive.
I had contracted the new variant of Covid that is raging across India — an unwanted souvenir to bring back to the UAE.
Following protocol in the UAE, I isolated myself for five days in my room. Any other day, I would have been binge-watching all my favourite Netflix series but I didn't even have the energy to watch TV.
Fever claimed my taste buds and smell
I can’t say how the new variant is different from the old one. Scientists may have theories. But all I know is it was harsher for me.
The fever was relentless for the first three days. I was groaning in pain and felt like my body had been run over by a lorry.
I couldn't eat anything as my taste buds were dead. They still are, five days later — I have lost my senses of smell and taste. Everything tastes like paper in my mouth.
I don’t know whether I contracted the virus in Agra or in the busy markets of Old Delhi. But I can say for sure that I have unknowingly passed it on to others, and for that I feel an overwhelming guilt.
My friend from Delhi was the first one. Even before I reached Dubai, she tested positive. Within no time, both her parents fell sick too.
The saga is just a reminder that Covid-19 is not behind us. It can strike us anytime, anywhere. A tiny virus, believed to have originated in a bat in China, is in my lungs today. It is stronger and sturdier, and is not going anywhere soon.
Global fight against Covid-19 — in pictures
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
