ANCIENT TRADE GIANT
Can you believe this: in the days of the Harappan ports, India was exporting not only fresh fruits, but also pickled fruits and vegetables to Oman!! Imagine the heights reached by those culinary masters in food preservation techniques that ghee, and pickles from vegetables and fruits grown in such abundant quantity to make pickles could withstand the long journey from kitchen to ports; across the Indian Ocean, to be traded further on too and still last in the household for enough length of time. Who would buy pickle that went rancid within weeks of reaching your home? Since Time Immemorial, India exported surpluses and fabled crafted products, first overland with camel / donkey caravans to the Middle East and beyond. Later as ship making perfected, consignments of goods floated west from the Malabar Coast, Kerala and new markets in the Far East and China from the Comorin coast, Tamil Nad...