Bhartiya lok Kala mandal was founded by Padma Shri devi lal samar in 1952. The main objective of the Institute is to conduct studies on the folk art, songs and festivals of regions like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh etc and to revive a vanishing folk culture. The institute has a puppet unit that trains children, teachers and other artists in the art of puppetry, as this is a very powerful non-conventional educative medium. It also boasts of regular performances that are a feast to behold. A group of 25 artists go on tour, both within India and abroad with a repertoire of puppet-shows and various folk dances. Their performances have brought the Institute a number of honours on a national and international level.

AIMS OF THE INSTITUTE

To popularise and propagate folk arts, folk dances and folk literature.
To do research in folkloristic and folk arts.
To update traditional folk arts to suit the modern milieu.
To give puppet shows and performances of folk dances and songs in and out of India.
To conduct training courses in folkloristic.
To encourage folk artists.
To do allied academic exercises and programmes.

ACTIVITIES

Research and documentation centre

The centre conducts cultural surveys of the folk and tribal belts to identify and locate folk art forms and also artists and artisans. Audio visual documentation of the various folk forms is done regularly and the Institute has now a fine archive centre.

MUSEUM

The museum is the outcome of various art objects and artifacts collected by the centre over the last 44 years. Traditional costumes, ornaments,miniature paintings and many other art objects are displayed in it to give a synoptic idea of the folk heritage of India. The museum is open from 9.00 AM to 6 PM every day. The centre is also in the process of establishing a culture data
bank to cater to the growing needs of researchers and scholars.

FOLK DANCE REPERTORY

The repertory, an ensemble of professional folk dancers, performs every evening at the studio theatre of the institute. It also tours all over the country and has represented it in many prestigious international festivals abroad. Dances like dandia, garba etc are part of its repertoire.

GOVIND PUPPET PERFORMANCE CENTRE

India has a tradition of about 2000 years in puppetry and the style that the centre presents is the oldest and most developed one. Legend says that the puppets come from a celestial body to entertain the human audience and have whistle -like vocabulary which interpreted in human language. The puppets are abnormally stylized, symbolic, and colourful. The first Indian puppet
play "Sinhasan battisi" was produced in this style(popularly known at present,as "Rajasthan Style"). This form of puppetry has been in existence since the time of Emperor Vikramaditya and the puppeteers claim their heritage from the entertainers of his time.
The centre aims at the preservation of traditional puppetry through regular research, experimentation and performances. The centre also offers regular courses in puppetry.

INSTITUTE OF RURAL COMMUNICATION

CRAFT TRAINING CENTRE

The Centre provides training to traditional artisans in developed technology for improving their craft and to enable them to withstand the pressure of the modern market. It also caters to the need of general learners. DEVILAL SAMAR INSTITUTE OF FOLK STUDIES The Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal is in the process of setting up a full fledged Insitute of folk studies, which will facilitate a systematic study of  endangered art forms in their historical context. The Insitute through regular training courses will also aim at an extention of these art forms beyond the caste format to ensure their continuance in an emancipated environment.