Two siblings come to live with their aunt in a housing society in a big city. Everything about the home is unlike anything they have seen, and given its strange reputation and that of its owner, the siblings cannot find playmates. That is until the neighbourhood sweet shop owner Mr Jeejeebhoy's flock of birds escape. Can the siblings mend the situation using their special powers?

That's the premise of Anitha Balachandran's book, Mister Jeejeebhoy and the Birds, and when Shaili Sathyu was approached to direct a play based on children's books, she picked it because it was the least straightforward story and thus, the most challenging to stage. "Yet, I chose it, not just for the fun of it, but also because it is just such a charming story," says the artistic director of Gillo Theatre Repertory, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The eponymous play will be staged by the city-based repertory on the first two Sundays of February.