At IIT Bombay, work is currently underway for understanding the fundamental properties of S = ? and S = 1 quasi-one dimensional antiferromagnetic (AF) chain compounds, also known as quantum spin chains. The low-dimensionality coupled with prominent quantum fluctuations give rise to unusual ground state and excited state properties which have been the subject of my study. In particular, IIT Bombay researchers have looked at systems where impurities can produce chain breaks thereby creating nano-size (approx. 30-50 nm) magnetic chains. The chain-break induced magnetism of these nano-chains can be explored comprehensively via a combination of bulk and local magnetic measurements. While a sensitive magnetometer is appropriate to study the bulk effects, a local technique such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is necessary to observe the effects at a local level. For instance, in the S = 1 AF chain Y2BaNiO5 (where Ni atoms form the magnetic chains), 89Y NMR allowed researchers to determine that an impurity substituted at the Ni site gave rise to an alternating magnetization at the adjacent Ni atoms in the chain. Further, this impurity-induced magnetization decayed exponentially with a characteristic length-scale of about 6 lattice constants (about 4 nm in this compound). The power of the technique in probing magnetic/structural effects at the single lattice constant level is therefore undisputed. The above work was carried out as a collaborative project funded by the Indo-French Center for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR) and the NMR part of the work was carried out in the French collaborator?s lab. The NMR spectrometer will be used to obtain a fundamental understanding of magnetic properties of nanomagnetic materials which are likely to be used for technological applications. Such work will allow to make an informed decision about the choice of materials which might be best suitable for some application.