Nanackchand was born in Durban. In 1977 he graduated in Fine Art from the University of Durban-Westville; in 1978 he gained an Honours Degree from that University and in 1979 he was awarded a British Council Scholarship to study art and design at the Middlesex Polytechnic, London, 1980-81.
He has taught art at UDW and is currently a lecturer in Fine Art at the Technikon Witwatersrand.
He has participated in numerous group exhibitions in SA and abroad and is represented in public and private collections in this country and abroad.