MUMBAI, Dec 23: Normalcy appears to have returned to dealing rooms after weeks of tension over the rupee. Dealers are now busy engaging their wits for yet another game: the year-end inter-bank quiz.

The quiz on Reuters screens attracts considerable interest with bank's treasury and corporate dealers all plugged in. Trivia floats across dealing room screens as dealers take a break after tackling some serious quotes for overnight money, gilts and the rupee.

The rupee touched a historic low of Rs 39.93 to the greenback last Tuesday. The Reserve Bank had announced a series of conservative measures to prop up the rupee.

The quiz on Reuters saw standard questions of this variety: "Where is the statue of Kala Ghoda located?" Answer: "Near Jija Mata zoo". Another sample: "Who played the part of `Samba' in Sholay?". Answer to that one being the bearded actor, Mac Mohan. Says Credit Lyonnais' corporate dealer, Pushkaraj Gumaste: "After all the drama we saw, the quiz comes as a welcome relief.

Gumaste is not alone. At Macklai & Macklai, Tejas Sheth, is also at it."Three fourth of the dealers are on leave...the others, the punished lot in the dealing rooms, are busy at the quiz", quipped a young dealer in a British bank.

Two quiz rounds is already over: the ones conducted by Banque Indo-Suez and ABN Amro Bank. HongkongBank has activated its quiz on Monday -- HSBC Markets' Annual Quiz'-- for the third year running. This is after it won the earlier quiz conducted by Banque Indo-Suez and ABN Amro Bank. On Wednesday, Standard Chartered Bank will come out with its own version of a quiz.

A dealer in a corporate bank was trying to figure out a HongKong Bank query: The author of Schindlers List. He got it finally: Thomas Keanelley, but was late. Somebody else had scored a hit before him. One dealer said that the only reason he took part in the quiz was to win the champagne bottles. "I don't care what the vintage is...all I know is that December is a good time to uncork one", said a rather bored dealer.

Treasury sources also took time to take a dig at the Reserve Bank. When asked whether Reserve Bank's dealing room participated in the quiz, a young lady dealer said tongue in cheek: "who knows?...But I think central bankers will do well. After all they know everything." Some felt that the Reserve Bank should also come out with a quiz of its own: "It will be great as an intervention strategy. It will keep everybody guessing. It will be the best way of telling the market to cool off."

According to some dealers there is only one real quiz, which everybody is really bothered: The value of the rupee on March 31, 1998.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.