V. Balasubramanian joined the IAS in 1965. Graduating from the Rangoon University, he was influenced by Marxian philosophy. He held various interesting posts such as Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate for six years including Bangalore district during Emergency. He worked under different Chief Ministers such as Veerendra Patil, Devaraj Urs, Gundu Rao and Ramakrishna Hegde whose Secretary he was for three years. After retirement in 2001 he was Chairman of the Task Force for Prevention of Land Grabbing in Karnataka. When government refused to print his report Greed and Connivance, he published and distributed it at his own cost. Before his adieu from public service in 2013, he was hauled up by the Privileges Committee of the Karnataka Legislature for contempt. But it was dropped due to media criticism. He has narrated incisively the fall from grace of political leadership and bureaucracy in the last five decades. He lives in Bangalore.