• When the market tanked a thousand points, did somebody call to at least understand what was going on?

No. I don’t think anyone called me. Again I am glad you asked this, because when the market tanked on a few days, we have come on television in order to clarify to the investors that the closure is as per our system and it’s not a panic reaction to the foreign markets. Other than that, we have taken no position on market levels.

• So it’s not as if you are closing the market because it’s falling. It just trips by itself.

It is something that is set in motion objectively.

• In your time, it’s (the Sensex) seen 5,000, it’s seen 20,000. Were there nights when you lost sleep?

I won’t say I lost sleep on account of this. One loses sleep on account of a number of things, so you can’t really have a causal relationship with any particular thing. You did worry, not about the level, but the pace at which the market kept reaching the lowest level.

• You did worry.

I think one did worry because at the back of our minds, the question was, is this orderly conduct in the market place?

• Can you go back and tell us when were you most worried about a rising market.

I won’t say worried. I would say four days, when it gained a thousand points, you did tend to . . . whether there was irrational exuberance in the market place. You asked yourself if things were going too fast.

... contd.