What was the author of the Sai Satcharitra, Hemadpant, like as a person before he met Sai Baba?

According to his own account in Chapter 2, the author, later known as Hemadpant, was initially quite cynical and argumentative. He describes himself as being mischievous, talkative, and critical. He admits to having a logic-driven mind and being proud of his own wisdom, which made him prone to argumentation. He states he was arrogant about his knowledge and knew nothing of the greatness of a Satguru, possessing what he called a 'bad intellect'. It was only through his past-life connections with Kakasaheb Dixit and Nanasaheb Chandorkar that he was fortunate enough to have a chance to visit Shirdi and see Sai Baba's lotus feet, despite his personality as a staunch debater.