Bulbul-V2 by Sarvam AI: India’s Best TTS Model with Support for 11 Indian Languages

 

India is a country of voices—literally. With 22 official languages and over a thousand dialects spoken from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, building AI that can truly speak like us is no small feat. Yet, Sarvam AI, a homegrown startup, is rewriting that narrative with its powerful new text-to-speech model: Bulbul-V2.

With support for 11 Indian languages, Bulbul-V2 brings a breakthrough in making AI more desi, accessible, and emotionally resonant for a diverse user base. Whether you’re a developer building multilingual apps, a content creator localizing content, or just someone who wants your app to say “Namaste” like a native, Bulbul-V2 is a game-changer.

Let’s dive into how Sarvam AI is pioneering TTS innovation for India.

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🇮🇳 What is Sarvam AI?

Sarvam AI is an Indian AI research and product company focused on building language-first AI systems for India. Their vision is bold yet simple: make state-of-the-art generative AI that speaks, understands, and resonates with Indian audiences.

Sarvam’s model lineup includes LLMs fine-tuned for Indian languages, and Bulbul—its flagship TTS family—is central to enabling natural voice generation across regions. With Bulbul-V2, the team has taken a leap toward making digital content feel more human and more local.

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🤖 Exploring Sarvam’s Models

Sarvam is actively developing:

• Text-to-Speech (TTS): Bulbul-V1 and now Bulbul-V2, tailored for Indian phonetics and accents.

• Large Language Models (LLMs): Trained with Indian linguistic data, optimized for multilingual tasks.

• Speech-to-Text (ASR) and Translation models (coming soon), to support a full-stack Indic voice-AI pipeline.

Their work is increasingly open-source and API-accessible, making it easy for devs to integrate Indian AI into real-world applications.

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🌟 What is Special About Bulbul-V2?

Bulbul-V2 isn’t just another TTS model—it’s India-first and emotionally intelligent.

Here’s what sets it apart:

• 11 Indian Languages Supported: Including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Odia, and Assamese.

• Regionally Authentic Voices: Voices that sound like native speakers, complete with intonations, prosody, and local expressions.

• Low Latency: Real-time or near-real-time speech generation.

• High Naturalness: Near-human-level expressiveness in both male and female voices.

• Open API Access: Easy to integrate into apps, IVRs, educational tools, and content workflows.

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🔌 How to Access Bulbul-V2 via API?

Sarvam has made it incredibly easy to try out Bulbul-V2 via their developer API. Here’s a quick overview:

1. Sign Up at Sarvam AI Console

2. Get Your API Key

3. Use the /tts endpoint to send text and receive audio

Example (Python):

python

import requests

headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = {
    "text": "வணக்கம்! இன்று எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்?",  # Tamil example
    "language": "ta",
    "voice": "female"
}

response = requests.post("https://api.sarvam.ai/tts", json=data, headers=headers)

with open("output.wav", "wb") as f:
    f.write(response.content)

Within seconds, you’ll hear a fluent, Tamil-speaking voice that sounds like it could be from your own neighborhood.

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🔉 Bulbul-V2 in Action: Voices from Different Languages

To put Bulbul-V2 through its paces, we tested a few fun tasks:

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🎭 Task 1: Humorous TTS Test

We fed Bulbul-V2 a joke in Hindi:

“टीचर: बताओ नींद क्यों आती है?
छात्र: सर, सपनों को पूरा करने के लिए।”

The result? An expressive, clear, and perfectly timed delivery that would make any stand-up comedian proud. The voice even mimicked conversational pauses!

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🌐 Task 2: Punjabi to Tamil Translation (via LLM + Bulbul)

We first translated a Punjabi sentence into Tamil using an LLM, then fed it into Bulbul-V2:

Original: "ਤੂੰ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਹਾਂ?"
Tamil: "நீ எப்படி இருக்கிறாய்?"

The model spoke with flawless Tamil pronunciation—something even many general-purpose TTS engines struggle with.

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🔁 Task 3: Malayalam to Gujarati Translation

Malayalam: "സുപ്രഭാതം! ഇന്ന് നിനക്ക് എങ്ങനെ തോന്നുന്നു?"
Gujarati: "સુપ્રભાત! આજે તને કેમ લાગે છે?"

Bulbul-V2 rendered this in a natural Gujarati tone, with accurate rhythm and stress patterns.

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📊 Overall Performance

Metric	Bulbul-V2 Rating
Language Coverage	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (11 languages)
Voice Naturalness	⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Latency	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Developer Experience	⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Emotion & Expressiveness	⭐⭐⭐⭐☆