To me 'love' is not just marriage and kids. It is companionship.

When Tejaswi Madivada said, “To me ‘love’ is not just marriage and kids. It is companionship,” she was not dismissing tradition, but illuminating its deeper heart. Her words are simple, yet they carry the weight of generations of misunderstanding — a reminder that love is not a duty, a ceremony, or a social achievement, but a sacred connection of souls. In her reflection, she breaks away from the idea that love must culminate in marriage or offspring, and instead honors the essence of what has always made love divine: the act of walking beside another being in trust, understanding, and shared presence.

The origin of this quote comes from a modern voice within a world still bound by ancient expectations. Tejaswi Madivada, an Indian actress and dancer, speaks from within a culture where marriage has long been seen as the natural end of romance and the proof of devotion. Yet her statement calls for a reawakening of perspective — to see love not as something owned or measured, but as something experienced. Her words echo the wisdom of the ancients who once said that the purest form of love is companionship — the comfort of two hearts that seek each other not for gain or duty, but for the peace of being understood.

Throughout history, the greatest love stories have not always been those sanctified by marriage or children, but those bound by companionship of spirit. Think of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, who, though never lovers in the conventional sense, shared a friendship so deep that their letters became scriptures of mutual inspiration. Or of Socrates and Plato, whose companionship in the pursuit of truth gave birth to philosophy itself. Even in myth, the bond between Achilles and Patroclus in Greek lore speaks of a love that transcends possession — a union of equals who found meaning in the shared journey of life. Such bonds remind us that love, in its highest form, is not ownership but fellowship.

What Madivada calls companionship is what the wise of old described as the meeting of minds and hearts on the path of destiny. Marriage, though noble, can become a shell if love is not its soul; children, though blessings, are not its measure. Love that endures is not forged in ceremonies but in the daily rhythm of two lives intertwined — in shared laughter, in silent understanding, in weathering storms side by side. True companionship is the art of being with another person without losing yourself, of walking together without binding the other’s feet. It is not about permanence of law, but permanence of presence.

And yet, this truth is often forgotten in the noise of the world. Too many chase the symbols of love — rings, rituals, promises — without tending to the spirit of connection that gives them meaning. The ancients warned that when form eclipses essence, devotion becomes hollow. To love as companionship is to restore love to its rightful throne — not as obligation, but as harmony. When two souls meet in genuine respect and curiosity, when they build a bond not upon need but upon mutual joy, they create something stronger than time: fellowship in freedom.

We can see this wisdom reflected in the life of Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba. Their marriage began as tradition, arranged and youthful, but it evolved into profound companionship. They endured prisons, exiles, and trials, yet what sustained them was not romance, but understanding. In his letters, Gandhi spoke not of her beauty or of their home, but of her patience, her strength, and the quiet comfort of her presence — for it is in companionship, not passion alone, that love achieves its highest dignity.

Let this truth be passed down: love is not possession, but partnership. Marriage and children may arise from it, but they are fruits, not the root. Seek not the outward signs of affection, but the inward stillness of companionship — the peace that comes from walking beside another soul without fear or pretense. In friendship, in romance, in every bond we hold dear, let us remember Tejaswi Madivada’s wisdom: that love is not about the milestones we achieve together, but the journey we share, hand in hand, across the changing seasons of life. For in companionship lies the eternal — the one form of love that neither time nor distance can undo.