Devilal Samar was born in the Oswal family in Udaipur on 30th Jul 1911. In 1952, he established Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal, Udaipur with the aim of preserving and promoting the folk arts, and providing a platform to the folk artists. He dedicated his life to the folk arts, dances, songs, folk theatre, puppetry, tribal and folk culture. He has written and published many books on various topics related to the tribal and folk arts, and has been organising folk festivals since the establishment of the group. In 1967 he was appointed the Chairman of the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi by the state government. He was awarded the Padmashri by government of India, and Lok Natya Shri by Kalidas Akademi in 1968.