Nina Rao learned traditional chants from her grandfather as young girl in a village in south India. The chants quietly stayed with her until she rediscovered chanting with Krishna Das in New York in 1996. In 1998 she met her guru, Sri Siddhi Ma in the foothills of the Himalayas and spent time with her regularly for 19 years. Her childhood was spent living in and moving between many countries around the world and when she settled in New York her working life began in the banking world, moved into organizing and leading photographic wildlife safaris in Africa and India, and now since 1996, has been Krishna Das’ business manager and musical accompanist, as well as a chant leader on her own. Nina’s chanting includes call-and-response kirtan, bhajans (longer form prayers), and some fundamental veda chanting.
Nina tours with Krishna Das, and was honored in 2013 to accompany him at the Grammy Awards webcast performance. In 2007, she recorded the track ‘Nina Chalisa’ on Krishna Das’ CD “Flow of Grace – Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa”. In January 2013, she released her debut album, “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts” which includes a duet with Krishna Das. Her second album “Anubhav” was released in 2018 entirely crowd-funded. Since 1998 she has supported conservationists in preserving the sacred wilderness of India via her charity SavingWildTigers.org. She is a podcast host on the widely-heard Be Here Now Network exploring spirituality, practice, and conservation of wilderness and Nature. Nina regularly leads kirtan, chanting workshops, and virtual & in-person retreats in New York and beyond. As a hospice volunteer, her practice helps her align with the reality of our living… now. In Dec 2024, Nina co-hosted and released along with 10 women wisdom leaders, the audio course and program “Sita’s Gems”, lifting Sita Devi from victim to heroine of the Ramayana. In March 2025 she along with Chandra Easton and Genevieve Walker released a recording mantras to Tara in the Buddhist tradition, called 21 Taras Mantra Mala Volume 1. Nina is looking forward to recording her third solo album this year.
For more information visit NinaRaoChant.com. You can also find Nina on Instagram | facebook | YouTube @NinaRaoChant
Nina Rao -alongside Krishna Das– will be hosting Wisdom & Wellbeing Week 1 Intensive | The Heart of the Path | January 2 – 9, 2027.