What are the most common Indian surnames (last names)?

Question:

What are the most common Indian surnames (last names)?

FYI, I'm an American. The first family from India I met had the surname "Gupta." Since then, I've met a lot of Guptas, several Chopras and quite a few Ganeshes.

I've read the Wikipedia entry for Indian names (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_name... so there's no need to cite it or explain to me how surnames are formed, used or not used.

What I'm wondering about is what that article doesn't explain: The prevalence (or lack) of surnames (last names) in India, which are most common, and [if possible] the meanings of the most common surnames, if appropriate.

Thanks in advance! I always pick a best answer, so this is a sure 10 points for the person with the best answer.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Common Northern India Surnames: (Delhi, Haryana, Punjab,etc)
Sharma
Verma
Gupta
Malhotra
Bhatnagar
Saxena
Kapoor, Kapur
Singh
Mehra
Chopra
Sarin
Malik

Common Eastern India surnames: (Bengal, Orrisa, etc.)
Chatterjee
Sen
Bose
Sengupta
Das
Dasgupta
Banerjee
Chattopadhyay
Mukopadhyay
Dutta

Common Southern India surnames: (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, etc.)
Nair (or Nayar)
Pillai
Rao
Jayaraman
Venkatesan
Balasubramanium
Subramanium
Rangan
Rangarajan

Common Central India (Bihar/ Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc)
Singh (Common for North also)
Yadav
Jhadav
Jaiteley
Chauhan
Mistry
Khan

Common Western India surnames: (Maharashtra, Gujarat, etc)
Shah
Mehta
Patel (Gujarati)
Patil (Maharashtrian)
Pawar, Powar
Gavde
Kadam
Tambe
Chavan
D'souza, Lobo, Rodrigues, D'Costa (Goan/ Pondicherry surnames- Former Portugal Colonies in India)