Background: Purohits ( Hindu Priest) are trained since childhood from Vedic schools to use their voice aesthetically. The Purohits in Vedic schools follow Vedic lifestyle,and are trained in breathing and voice care through Vedic scripts. However, their rigorous regime in Vedic schools do not allow them to have structured voice care routine. Hence they are at risk for developing voice pathologies.
Aim: To compare the acoustic spectral and cepstral parameters of voice of individuals trained in Vedic schools.
Method: A total of 60,trainee children Purohits with minimum 1 year of training and trained adults with minimum 5 years of experience participated in the study. Detailed case history was taken.Voice recording of sustained phonation /a/, reading a standardized passage and Sanskrit chant was done using digital recorder in quiet room. Comparison of acoustic spectral and cepstral analysis across three tasks was done using Multi-Dimensional Voice Program Advanced (MDVP).
Results: The results revealed that among young purohits only spectral analysis Long Term Average Spectrum(LTAS) showed significant difference in reading (p<0.01)and chant task (p<0.01). LTAS revealed that there was a significant difference for the amplitude in higher formants for mantra task (p<0.01) and for reading task in children (p<0.01). Also for adults difference was significant (p<0.01) in mantra task and (p<0.01) in reading task. The Cepstral analysis found that there was a significant difference observed only for adults across the groups in mantra (p<0.01) task and in reading (P<0.01) task.
Conclusion: The results indicated that the rigorous training in Vedic schools, including breathing and voice care techniques, can lead to improved vocal skills and adaptations over time. The study highlighted developmental differences between young trainee Purohits and trained adults, suggesting that vocal skills and resonating voice quality continue to develop and mature with training and experience.The study highlights the importance of preserving traditional vocal practices, such as Vedic chanting, and the need to balance these practices with vocal health considerations.
Keywords: Purohits, formants, LTAS and CPP