'Seemandam' function

I was lucky to attend the 'Seemandam' function of my friend's elder sister. I was not aware of such a rituality involving the relatives of the preganant woman, believed to comfort the baby yet to be born. The function is found only amond brahmin communities and it involves poojas performed by pundits. The woman and her husband collects rice grains in the pallu as a token of blessings showered upon them by their relatives.
The function ended with the sadya to all those who attended it and giving away of home made sweets and coconut in a small bag before leaving. The whole function gave me a feeling of pride in being part of rich traditional indian culture.