Amrit Kang was humming a familiar Punjabi tune one day in July when an idea came to him.
“I was singing the song, and said ‘aaya Santa’ instead,” he said.
The original song, “De De Gehra” by Balbir Baporai, is popular at weddings. Kang knew the song’s producer, Sukpal Sukh Ji, so he sent him a message asking if he could write Christmas-themed Punjabi lyrics to the classic beat.
“He agreed, and he was excited, and he gave us both the motivation, like ‘Let’s do it,'” Kang said.
Sukh and Kang worked together virtually on the music. Once Kang finished the lyrics, his son Yuvraj sang the new version for the recording, released on Winnipeg record label Pind204 Studios.
“I just want to add some Punjabi music taste for some Punjabi kids, they also celebrate Christmas,” Yuvraj said.
The music video for “Aaya Santa,” filmed by local videographer Fateh Brar, stars Yuvraj and several of his family friends. Yuvraj finds a disoriented Santa Claus at the airport. When Yuvraj discovers Santa speaks Punjabi, he takes him on a holiday tour of the city.
“I was pretty excited,” Yuvraj said about the shoot. “It was pretty fun, and it was a good experience filming the video.”
“Aaya Santa,” translates to “Santa is here.” For the Kangs, the song is a way to blend their Sikh culture with Canadian Christmas traditions.
“We have mixed emotions during this time of the year, because of our Sikh history and the sacrifices of our Guru,” said Kang, “but also our Guru said to have high spirits all the time.”
In the Sikh religion, the end of December is a time of mourning for the 10th Guru Gobind Singh and his four children. For young Sikh children growing up in Canada, Kang says it can be difficult to understand when others around them are celebrating Christmas.
“It is a confusing time for them,” he said.
“Aaya Santa” uses a familiar character to bridge the gap, and Yuvraj hopes it brings people of all backgrounds in to learn about each others’ customs.
“I do request them to look into the culture, because I’m also in their culture,” he said.
For the Kangs, the project was also a way to spend time together, something they say they will cherish for years to come.
“It was pretty exciting working with my dad and it’s a big achievement, and we both spent time with each other, and I think this will be a good memory,” said Yuvraj.
Kang hopes the video brings some joy to everyone’s day, no matter which holidays they observe.
“Music has no language, no boundaries, no religion, so it’s fun to bring smiles to the kids’ faces, so I think that’s our achievement,” he said.