Flagging off the signs

Chase the Avoid red flags in a relationship green ones, by all means. But it's the beige flags, those harmless quirks of every partner, that make a relationship fun. What do beige flags look like? Hear it from Ayesha Kanga and Rasika Dugal

- Karishma Kuenzang

You've heard of red flags - worrisome signs that the person you're dating is bad news. You've heard of green flags too - signs that your partner is a keeper (These are so rare, maybe we should rebrand them unicorn flags!). But what about beige flags - behaviour that's totally safe, but quirky, mildly odd? Men who are secretly fans of Adele, women who only eat fries in even numbers, partners who chat with their plants while watering them, the college crush who still knows all the steps to Single Ladies.

Turns out, it's the beige flags that make relationships fun. They are more telling of a person than reds or greens. They also highlight the compromises a partner is willing to make and the effort they're likely to put into building a strong relationship.

One person's beige may be another's green or red. But actors Ayesha Kanga, 28, and Rasika Dugal, 39, had surprisingly similar responses to what constitutes a harmless quirk on the dating scene. Kanga is single, and shot to fame with her acting debut in Class (2023). Dugal will soon appear onscreen for the first time with her husband of 13 years, actor Mukul Chadha, in the film Ferry Folk.

Here's how their flags measure up.

Setting a chain of alarms, and for random times: 6:28, 6:43, 7:08.

Ayesha: Green flag. It's charming that they are being non-conformist, know what they want, including how long they take to do things.

Rasika: Green flag. It's a great character quirk. Unless it's out of superstition.

Meandering when telling a simple story.

Ayesha: Beige flag. I'm here for the ride as long as it's an interesting story.