Neighborhood Stories: KD McComb, Dancing Mama Boutique

I was born in Seattle –- a premature birth, so I got to be accidentally American. I was raised in an ashram in Burnaby, British Columbia on the outskirts of Vancouver. My parents met in the ashram during the late 1960s/early 70s – a revolutionary time for spiritual seekers. We studied stories, philosophy, and Sanskrit.

The first time I was in India, I was five years old. I recall mango fights. I remember the color of ripe mango bursting across the yard and onto the ground. Every day there were huge wedding processions with horse drawn chariots. The colors and smells were vivid. My memories of night time processions with elephants and being passed around by the bridesmaids imprinted heavily on me.

My little brother, Gopal, was nearly three during this time. After a few months, we left our hosts and traveled with my mother to visit the Krishna pilgrimage town of Vrindavan. Every day, my mother took my brother and I down to the sacred river Yamuna to bathe. It was her freedom.

When I was 11, we moved to Vancouver and it was quite a culture shock. In my new school, much of the peer aspect was awkward for me. I didn’t have the same shared cultural benchmarks as others and I found myself nodding a lot, but having no idea what people where talking about. I wanted to fit in and yet, I couldn’t make up for the lost time.

One area I did enjoy in high school was social activism. I got involved in many issues, from women’s rights to – everything. I went to China when I was 17 years old, just a few years after Tiananmen Square. It made a huge impression on me.

I moved to Los Angeles after high school because there was a pilot project ashram, and an opportunity to go to college while being a part of an intentional community. I lived there for three years, but it didn’t last. It was not as organized as I’d hoped and I think we all got into too much trouble. I had the travel bug anyway.

During my time in L.A., I learned that a sari could go anywhere. It protected me on city buses and set me apart, and I could go to a Hollywood party and be a ‘designer.’ In reality, I really didn’t have anything else to wear.

In 1998, I left L.A. by returning the village of Vrindavan carrying my brother’s ashes. Two years earlier, at the age of 17, Gopal was killed in a train accident. He was in the army at that time, a well-decorated cadet. He died a hero after saving his girlfriend’s life. I was the first one in our family to have an opportunity to return to India, so I brought a portion of his ashes.

Even though it was a couple of years after his death, I was deep in grief. I got to Vrindavan and just needed to stop. I ended up working for an international school and an environmental organization. It was full immersion; I lived and worked and had a full life there, but my visa expired.

When I returned to L.A., the culture shock was too much for me, so I went to my father’s organic farm in Canada, and lived completely off the grid for a year. During that time, I discovered my passion for dance. I came to the Bay Area to study with Anna Halprin, a modern dance legend. She taught me therapeutic dance and I also finished my yoga credentials in 2012.

During this period, I got married and had kids. I have two kids, a daughter named Arati (13) and a son named Shambhu, (10). I ended up in the Springs because my former husband’s family is from this area. His ancestors built Chateau St jean and I was enamored with watching my daughter standing beneath a 100-year-old magnolia tree that her great grandfather planted. I chose the Springs specifically because of Woodland Star Charter School. I love the color here, the diversity, and the good neighbor culture.

My shop is in the Springs below Tarot Art and Tattoo Gallery on Hwy 12. I design and produce my line “Dancing Mama” in Vrindavan. I spent part of my time there working with widows and street kids. Sometimes, I help take care of basic medical needs, feed the kids, but my long-term goal is to create jobs for them. I know the chain of manufacturing. I work with sari and cloth merchants who are seven generation and they work directly with my tailor.

After working with a designer briefly, I started to design for myself. I wanted to bring to a sense of that graceful modesty and a dynamic flamboyance while incorporating the athleticism of American style. I wanted something practical, so my new skirts have a shorter length and pockets.

I’ve never forgotten that time in India, when I was five years old and feeling like a princess. No matter the age, everybody wants to feel beautiful. To feel gorgeous. When I see someone put the right dress on, their whole self changes — they will start spinning and flouncing around – that’s when I know it is right.

Dancing Mama Boutique is located at 17977 Sonoma Hwy and online at http://dancingmamakd.com

— As told to Jennifer Gray Thompson