john,

Just looked up "Aranyak" (In the forest) and found a review of the new translation. Check this link: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/lr/2003/06/01/stories/2003060100260400.htm 
Ignore my earlier English title. Rimli Bhattacharya is a very good translator. If you do buy this, go for this new translation published from Seagull Books.

I think that Amitav Ghosh is the greatest novelist, writing in English, to come out of India. As an anthropologist, he brings a certain rigour to novel writing, that is seldom found among writers. You can safely pick up anything that he's ever written. Rushdie, according to me, never recaptured the magic of "Midnight's children" ever again, though I am yet to read "Shalimar, the Clown". Rushdie, of course, was hugely influenced by "The Tin Drum". So, if you haven't read that, one following the other might be a great idea.

I found Anita Desai's "Clear Light of Day" a rather mediocre Woolfian novel, without her intensity though. Jhumpa Lahiri is too much hype. Try them anyways. Rohinton Mistry is very good. He just missed being on my top 25 list. Lots of Latin American writers were also strong contenders for the list. Since, I tried to keep a healthy balance between poetry and fiction, I had to leave them out.

M