Audience members at the sprawling Old Zenana Courtyard at Mehrangarh Fort had returned to their seats after dancing their feet off. A group of Manganiyar folk musicians had completed a roaring set that comprised a playful use of percussion instruments and joyous vocals. But the stage at Jodhpur RIFF 2018 was now set for a polar-opposite sound. An air of melancholy was about to envelop the premises of the music festival held in October, as Ana Pinhal — a fado singer from Portugal — took the stage resplendent in a floral off-white gown.

And for the next 45 minutes, Pinhal pulled at our heartstrings like a lover wailing mellifluously for her partner, who she longs for. With simply a classic acoustic and a traditional Portuguese guitar as accompaniments, she showcased the finest traditions of a genre that is synonymous with songs from her homeland. This isn't music meant to pep you up. Instead, it's meant to invoke a sense of emptiness that's akin to the feeling a person gets when sitting by a window alone at home, looking at a vacant street that's devoid of life.