Grey zone of nuptials

By law, they are husband and wife.

- ANISHA KHATUN, OP

In life, they move on separate tracks. Two homes, two routines, two independent identities, yet one legal bond holds them together. This is the reality of parallel marriage, a marital arrangement in which a man and a woman remain legally married while choosing to live separate, self-governed lives.Parallel marriage does not emerge from romance or rebellion alone; it grows out of compromise, circumstance, and survival. For some, it offers stability without proximity, legal security without daily intimacy. For others, it becomes a negotiated response to career demands, emotional incompatibility, or social pressure to remain married despite a fractured partnership. The marriage exists, but the shared life does not.

What makes parallel marriage unsettling is not its structure, but its implications. It exposes how marriage can persist as a legal contract even when companionship fades. It challenges the belief that togetherness is the core of commitment, replacing it with coexistence at a distance. Critics view it as a hollow arrangement that delays honest separation, while supporters argue it allows autonomy without the upheaval of divorce.