For the Non-Indians looking at the pictures and scratching their heads:
I want to clarify that the Indian concept of pickle is nothing like (say) the American concept (cucumber cut lengthwise, in vinegar, in a bottle, at the grocery store).
I don't know if there's a global equivalent to the Indian pickle. But the Indian pickle is a very-highly spiced, cured in oil concoction (primarily consisting of fruits and vegetables, with around 50% of the total mass being spices and oil). For the poor or rich alike it's a great thing to have. The poor because it adds a blast of flavor to otherwise bland carbs (rice / wheat). There were poor people in India (back when I lived there) who could afford nothing but plain rice as their meal. If they had pickle, it still made a tasty meal. I'm told that this sort of extreme poverty is now a thing of the past. I hope it's true.
> I don't know if there's a global equivalent to the Indian pickle
Most old-world cultures have a spiced, fermented foodstuff. Japan, China and Korea, for example, are full of them. Many ingredients in modern Indian pickles were originally imported from the North Africa of antiquity.
Even in America, the “classic” dill-pickled cucumber is a very small fraction of the fermented vegetable foods.
There are spiced pickles available in the western world (spiced olives in oil, as an example) - though it may not be as spicy or oily as Indian pickles. Kimchi is a distant but somewhat similar take. Indian pickles too are allowed to ferment a little at times (not the really old variety shown in the article). India also has its own version of American pickles (veggies deep-preserved in brine) - but they are usually not called pickles outside of supermarkets.
in the past the world did not have fridges and freezers. So anything that would spoil was made into pickles/aachar it had less to do with being poor and more with being able to preserve food for longer. Farms in the west make jams marmalade of fruits not because they are poor but so they they can use their crops in the future.
Tangerine skin in China/Canton area ( I believe ), used for different cuisines, it can be decade old as well, generally it seems to be more dried than packed with spices, it gives a delicious fragrance.
I want to clarify that the Indian concept of pickle is nothing like (say) the American concept (cucumber cut lengthwise, in vinegar, in a bottle, at the grocery store).
I don't know if there's a global equivalent to the Indian pickle. But the Indian pickle is a very-highly spiced, cured in oil concoction (primarily consisting of fruits and vegetables, with around 50% of the total mass being spices and oil). For the poor or rich alike it's a great thing to have. The poor because it adds a blast of flavor to otherwise bland carbs (rice / wheat). There were poor people in India (back when I lived there) who could afford nothing but plain rice as their meal. If they had pickle, it still made a tasty meal. I'm told that this sort of extreme poverty is now a thing of the past. I hope it's true.