The rising popularity of the harmonium has not escaped the attention of the craftsmen who make harmoniums in India. Craftsmen who were formerly happy with the money they earned making a limited number of quality harmoniums a year, are deserting the factories that demand the kind of high quality that only comes from slow patient crafting of the instrument, in order to work for "harmonium mills" that churn out crude, wheezy, out-of-tune harmoniums in high numbers.

Many craftsmen who used to make 60 good harmonium a year are now making 200 junk harmoniums a year. The market is flooded with junk harmoniums sold on mass-market sites and auction sites that look fine on a web-page but fall apart when they arrive.

In the meantime, the handful of uncompromising instrument makers still making good harmoniums cannot keep up with demands, and the factories have found it necessary to pay them more to keep them on staff. And naturally those costs are passed on to consumers in the West.

As the premiere seller of harmoniums in the US and Canada we at Keshav Music are struggling to maintain high standards and keep up with demand. We appreciate your patience and understanding when it comes to waiting for the arrival of high-quality instruments on those occasions when they are out of stock. The good stuff takes time.