Who was Hemadpant, and what was his personality like before he wrote about Sai Baba?

Hemadpant is the name given to the author of the 'Sai Leela' book. As he explains in Chapter 2, he promises to tell the story of how he received this name to satisfy the reader's curiosity. Before this transformation, he describes his own character in unflattering terms. He admits to being mischievous, talkative, cynical, and highly critical. He possessed what he calls the 'impurity' of knowledge, meaning he was arrogant about his intellect. He was always proud of his own wisdom, had a logic-driven mind, and was prone to argumentation, knowing nothing of the greatness of a Satguru.