In 1974, Desad was one of the musicians and singers handpicked by Shankar for his Music Festival from India revue. Sponsored by Harrison, the eighteen-piece orchestra toured Europe, playing a musical program that mixed Indian classical and a wide variety of regional folk styles. Among the percussion instruments played by Desad, he performed on pakavaj beside fellow drummers Alla Rakha (tabla), T.V. Gopalkrishnan (mridangam) and Kamalesh Maitra (tabla tarang). Harrison also produced a studio album by the Music Festival from India; released in 1976, it included contributions from Desad on pakavaj, madal tarang, dholki, nagada, huduk and duff. Following the Music Festival's European tour, he played on Harrison and Shankar's joint North American tour in November and December 1974. For the finale to the Indian portion of these concerts, Desad and the rest of Shankar's ensemble performed with Harrison's band, which also included jazz percussionist Emil Richards and rock drummers Jim Keltner and Andy Newmark.