Mr Jeejeebhoy and the Birds
by Mariam Tareen
Six enraptured children sit in a bright and colourful room littered with toys, balloons and cushions, and crowd around Bhavisha Morjari, who is reading out from a storybook. Parents sit leaning against the walls, some equally engrossed. Although the pages of the book light up on a TV screen at the front of the room, the children watch the physical pages as Bhavisha turns them through the story.
The book is Mr Jeejeebhoy and the Birds – a story about two young girls, Diya and Tara, who arrive at their aunt’s strange house in a suburb of Bombay and fall into the magical world of Mr Jeejeebhoy’s sweetshop, complete with ice cream and rasgullas.
Bhavisha asked questions throughout the story to keep the kids engaged, which seemed to work. They clutched balloons as they listened, their hands shooting up eagerly to answer questions now and then. The enthusiasm was such that one boy kept raising his hand and when asked the answer, replied with “I forgot…”
The event ended on some high notes – literally – with songs requests on the guitar, which the children moved close to listen to. The kids spent the rest of the time colouring and playing with toys, and clearly had a good time, while parents were able to enjoy other events at the festival.
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